Into the Realm of Magic
by IIIIIIIIII
Summary: While traveling through the Dangai after only recently regaining his Soul Reaper powers, Ichigo Kurosaki finds his way into the impossible yet again. Transported to yet another world, new friends will be made, enemies will be defeated, feelings will be discovered, and inseparable bonds will be forged. Pairing will be IchigoxTwoFemales so sort-of Harem.
1. Wrong Exit

**A/N So for those of you who are new to reading my work, I will save you the trouble of reading every A/N and just put the basic info at the top while people who are reading this due to the update I put in for ****To Find The Heart** **can be told that your 'message' comes at the bottom in which I explain a few things. Also I don't own the cover image thing; I just made it from a collection of stuff. **

**First, I will say that as an author I do a few things to try and keep my readers confusion at bay. At the end of each chapter I usually have an **_**Explanations**_: **section, in which I explain my reasons for making certain things happen, and a **_**Reviews**_: **section in which I respond to various reviews. Also, if you have any questions at all, really, feel free to post them in a review and I will answer them. Either that, or if you choose to PM me I will respond as quickly as I am able. Now onto information about the story. **

**This will be, as you already know, a Bleach Fairy Tail Crossover in which Ichigo is basically inserted into Fairy Tail after he just regained his powers and is entering the Dangai by way of the Soul Society's Senkaimon. He will enter during Natsu's battle with Bora the Prominence, and for those of you who don't know who that is then there might be a bit of confusion xD. The pairing will be IchigoxTwoFemales and I may make it three if backed by popular demand, but the most I would likely keep it at is three since three/four is where I believe the cutoff point is, meaning that any more would make it less serious of a fic. Five is pushing it, and any more than that is waaay over the line in my mind. Oh yeah, the pairing will be hidden for a bit and expect a more gradual progression of the Romance aspect since I don't really think 'INSTANT LOVE OMG!' Is the best way to present romance, even if it is a quasi-harem fic… **

_**HEADS UP**_**: If you do not actually watch Fairy Tail or aren't familiar with the story than this chapter will likely be the only one you will be a bit lost on. I forwent Natsu meeting Lucy and descriptions of their appearance as stuff in this chapter because I believed it would make it a bit too long and a bit dry for those reading this that are already familiar with both Bleach and Fairy Tail. Just wanted to tell people this in advance to avoid any confusion. Without any further ado, here's the first chapter, and the second one right after this actually! **

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 1 **

_**Soul Society: Outside the Gates of the Senkaimon**_

The once again Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki stood at the end of two separate columns of ceremoniously decorated Soul Reapers that lined his path to the gate that would lead him back to the world of the living. A light breeze whisked through the air, and the sun beamed brightly in the sky, only a few clouds being present to block its rays.

There was but one singular thing standing immediately before him and the ethereal glow of the portal, and that was the body of Kugo Ginjo. Said deceased man was currently being carried by four Soul Reapers via a stretcher-looking device that held his corpse. Ichigo, however, didn't really pay too much attention to that.

So much had happened in such a short period of time, his meeting the Fullbringers, the battle with Tsukishima and subsequently Kugo Ginjo, and, perhaps most importantly, the regaining of his Soul Reaper powers. Maybe to him that wasn't the most important given that obviously it was protecting his friends that held that coveted position, but still he'd be lying if he said it didn't bring him a sense of joy.

Perhaps the means was a little odd and less than preferable, but in the end Ichigo supposed he wouldn't have it any other way. His friends and family were safe, the immediate threat had been dealt with, he had cleared things up with the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, and now, just maybe, a time of tolerable peace and calm would enter his life.

It was true that his life for the previous year or so had been what one could call peaceful, but that was offset by the fact that he had lost his powers. At first it wasn't so horrible, but it gradually got more and more difficult to bear. Not being able to see half of his friends, people he had fought with in the heat of battle, naturally this would bother anyone.

'_It's hard to believe that this… all of this…_' Ichigo thought and he continued to walk towards the large gateway.

Almost all at once he took in everything that had resulted from his gaining Soul Reaper powers. The people he had met, the friends he had made, the enemies he had fought, the lives he had saved, and even the place he currently walked the grounds of. It was simply all amazing, so much so that it was almost overwhelming to think about. He had pushed such recollections and notions to the back of his mind for over a year, and now that he no longer had to do so it seemed to hit him all at once, as if he was reliving a dream.

'_All of this… makes me feel stupid for ever having wanted a normal life so badly._' Ichigo thought.

He couldn't deny that he had wanted to live a normal life for a time, and in fact he was even looking forward to it slightly when he had fully lost his Soul Reaper powers. However, he had been lying to himself more and more every day when he said he was fine with the end result. Any day of the week he would choose to have Soul Reaper powers and the responsibilities that came with them. Ichigo realized, now, that his life would never be normal, and that was just fine with him.

Behind the orange-haired teen as he continued to walk stood two of his closest comrades and treasured friends, Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai. The once again substitute hadn't seen them in so long, and though they said not a word and chose to walk in respectful silence behind him and the body of Kugo Ginjo, just their presence was enough.

It was true that they had not spoken or approached Ichigo in over a year, nor had they made the attempt to do so. However, Ichigo was never one to dwell on the past, and the fact that he now had his Soul Reaper powers once more made any petty resentments seem to be just that.

A moment later the group of men carrying the body of the first Substitute Soul Reaper entered the large portal, alerting Ichigo to the fact that he was nearly at the gate himself. However, that wasn't what broke him out of his nostalgic thoughts. The voice of one of his friends graced the sound of his ears, just as he was at the front of the Senkaimon.

"Thank you…" Rukia whispered quietly.

At this, Ichigo allowed a small smile to come across his features, if only for a brief period of time. The raven-haired lieutenant likely didn't want him to hear that if how quiet her voice was anything to go by, but nevertheless he knew it was directed at him. Still, since it seemed as if he wasn't meant to have heard those last words, he put it off as such.

"See you, Rukia." Ichigo said, his back still facing both the subject of his farewell.

The substitute turned an instant later, catching the quiet look of surprise on the face of his close friend. Very clearly she had been deep in thought as well, but still she recovered quickly and gave the orange-haired teen a small but genuine smile.

"How many times have I heard that now?" Rukia wondered aloud, staring at the ground for a moment before looking back up at the once again Substitute Soul Reaper.

"It's not like we'll never see each other again. Why should it matter how many times I say it?" Ichigo countered in a somewhat cheerful manner.

"You're right." Rukia replied.

Ichigo gave a small smile to the purple-eyed woman before waving her off and turning to run through the precipice world. When his body entered the blue, ethereal glow of the portal, the gates began to close, and with that the ordeal of his return was seemingly complete.

_**Within the Precipice World: Unknown Distance from the World of the Living **_

'_It is really strange how the men carrying Ginjo's body are so far ahead of me. I must've followed at maximum a minute later._' Ichigo thought.

The time difference aspect of the Dangai never was something he really cared to thoroughly understand, which was especially ironic given the means he used to defeat Aizen, or rather gained the power to do so. That aside, it was still confusing as all hell to see the body of the man he defeated being carried off only to lose sight of it a moment later.

'_Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter._' Ichigo thought.

He continued to run through the essential bridge between worlds, somewhat thankful that the cleaner was not being sent through it at the moment. In all honesty he had far too many unwanted encounters with the large unstoppable machine. It seemed that every time he was within this world, so was it, running up on his tail.

Abruptly, however, a large rumbling sound echoed throughout the Dangai, causing the ground to shake and for Ichigo to stop dead in his tracks.

'_What the hell?_' Ichigo wondered, looking around somewhat frantically. It felt as if it were an earthquake of some kind, and given that he relied on this practical tunnel to travel from the world of the living to the Soul Society, and vice a versa, it definitely wasn't a good thing that it was doing something it plainly shouldn't.

The shaking stopped no sooner than it began, though the substitute still stood in place, looking around for potential sources of danger. The cleaner was still not in sight, but that only gave him more cause for concern given that said device was the only thing that he thought _could_ have caused that much commotion in the precipice world.

'_So… if the cleaner isn't causing it, what the hell is?_' Ichigo wondered.

The orange-aired teen continued to stay at a standstill for several moments, after which he collected himself and began to slowly walk forwards, his eyes still scanning the surrounding area simply to air on the side of caution.

Just a few seconds later, the quakes began once more, only this time much larger in scale. The restrictive current that lined the sides of the Dangai began to flow at a rapid pace, faster than Ichigo had ever seen it before, and the ground itself began to move in a wayward fashion.

'_Dammit, what the hell is happening?!_' Ichigo thought, now struggling to maintain his balance despite the fact that he was doing his best to remain unmovable.

The floor of the precipice world itself began to shift and turn in random directions, causing the substitute to panic a great deal given that he now knew very well that he no longer had control over where he was headed. At best he could pray he didn't get slammed into the restrictive current, and so that's just what he did.

Shortly thereafter, the ever shifting floor on which the young Soul Reaper stood began to move in a fashion that suggested it was about to slam into the wall of the precipice world, directly into the rapidly flowing ooze-like substance that lined it's sides.

'_Just my luck…_' Ichigo thought, immediately after which he felt himself being thrust into the restrictive current.

Just before this happened he knew very well it would be unpleasant. He simply hoped that the substance lining the walls was only half as vile and disgusting as it appeared, and even then being absorbed by it would still hold the potential to be one of the worst experiences in his entire life.

_**Fiore: Hargeon Town Harbor, Aboard a Luxury Ship **_

A massive tidal surge crashed into the sides of the city onto the beach, drenching the coastline and sending a large luxury ship with it. Water crushed into the outlying buildings of the city, but fortunately the ship itself landed on the sands of the beach.

Nearby the crashed form of the ship, Lucy Heartfilia clung to the ground on her knees, appearing as if she were trying to recover from being swept away in the aftermath of her most powerful celestial spirits' attack. Needless to say, the fact that the spirit caught her in the practical tsunami aggravated the blonde-haired wizard a great deal.

Next to her stood the blue talking cat that had accompanied Natsu, only his mood seemed rather pleasant despite what had just happened. It was actually quite hard to tell given that his head was firmly planted in the sands as his upper body squirmed and squiggled in order to rectify that situation.

Aquarias, her contracted water spirit, however, floated nearby with a small smirk on her face, which was likely due to the fact that her 'master' seemed to be annoyed by her recent actions.

"What's the big deal? You think you could've tried not to sweep me up with the ship?" Lucy questioned in an agitated manner. The blue-haired spirit seemed not to care in the slightest in response.

"Oh, that was an accident. I didn't mean to get the ship." Aquarias replied snidely.

"You were aiming for me?!" Lucy exclaimed angrily, though the water spirit only turned her back from where she floated in the air nearby.

"Don't call me for a while. I'm going on a weeklong vacation with my boyfriend…" Aquarias began, turning her face slightly so as to show her wielder a smirk of superiority.

"And he's hot." She added before vanishing in a bright watery glow of light.

"You don't have to rub it in!" Lucy shouted, though very clearly the spirit either chose to ignore her or didn't hear her. At the same time, the formerly trapped talking feline freed his head from the ground and popped back up to give the mage some words of encouragement.

"I've got an idea. If the fish lady gives you any more trouble you can call me to take care of her!" Happy chirped, raising a paw to the sky in order to take on a triumphant pose.

"I don't think I can handle much more of this stupid cat." Lucy whined, placing a hand over her face in a hopeless fashion.

The would-be conversation between the two was cut short upon the nearby pedestrians coming forth from the nearby outlying buildings of the city to view the wreckage. That did make some sense, given that it was their city and it wasn't every day that a luxury liner just up and landed on the beach.

"What happened?" One of the bystanders asked to no one in particular.

"That ship was thrown into port." Another answered.

Within the ship the fake Salamander and his entourage began to gather themselves, helping up those who seemed to be knocked out or picking themselves up in order to assess the current situation.

"That hurt…" Bora sighed out, rubbing his head slightly as he got up from the floor of the ship, or rather the wall given that the cruiser was currently on its side.

His attention, however, was instantly brought to the upper part of the ship on what he supposed to be the opposite wall. Incidentally that part of the ship was acting as the current ceiling, but it really couldn't be called that given that there was an enormous hole that allowed what appeared to be a man to stand on the surface.

"What in the…" Bora trailed off, staring at the smoke-covered figure that stood atop him and his crewmates.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed as she ran up to the side of the ship, his body being very visible to anyone nearby the capsized vessel.

She stopped in her tracks when she became close enough to view the expression on his face, and when it did she was somewhat confused. It was one of absolute seriousness, and what's more the pink-haired teen didn't seem to acknowledge her call as his eyes were fixed in a slight glare down on the man who had aggravated him so much in just the past several minutes.

"So you claim to be a member of the Fairy Tail guild?" Natsu asked in a low, ominous tone.

"So what's it to you? Go get him men." Bora sternly commanded, not caring in the slightest who this man was or why he seemed to upset.

"Sir." Many of his coconspirators responded convincingly.

"Let me get a closer look at your face." Natsu said as if to himself before ripping off the practical cloak he wore.

"Tch." Bora scoffed with an annoyed smirk, not finding the action all that intimidating in the slightest.

"Watch out!" Lucy shouted upon seeing two of the men rush towards the pink-haired teen.

"Don't worry about him. I probably should have told you this earlier but he's a wizard too." Happy said cheerfully from atop the blonde's shoulder.

"HUH?!" Lucy exclaimed, though the blue-furred cat just went back to eating a fish.

The two men neared their intended target, but the pink-haired teen didn't waver in the slightest. When they were close enough, he merely brought his right hand across to take them both down, doing so successfully and causing each to fall over to the sides, bruised and beaten.

"My name is Natsu I'm a Fairy Tail wizard, and I've never seen you before!" Natsu stated in an agitated fashion.

At this, both the pretend member of said guild and the blonde celestial spirit mage were greatly surprised, though perhaps Lucy was more so. It didn't seem true, but the proof was present in the form of a guild symbol that was tattooed onto his upper-right arm.

"What?" Bora exclaimed.

"You've gotta be kidding me. So Natsu is a Fairy Tail wizard?!" Lucy wondered aloud.

"That mark on his arm… this guy's the real deal Bora!" One of the crew said in a panic, having observed the crimson guild mark on the mage's right arm.

"Don't call me that you fool!" The now named Bora, as far as Lucy and Natsu were concerned, shouted indignantly.

However, the said name seemed to ring a bell to a certain blue feline, who currently stood next to Lucy with his arms crossed and his eyes set in a glare on the purple-caped mage.

"I know him. That's Bora the Prominence. Rumor has it he was kicked out of the Titan Nose wizard guild a couple of years ago because of bad behavior." Happy said with derision.

Lucy, on the other hand, didn't seem to respond to those words. All she could do was stare in a stupefied fashion as the pink-haired teen began to walk towards the false pretender who likely didn't think for even a second he was a mage of a decent caliber.

"I have no idea what you're trying to do here buddy, and I don't care if you're a good guy, bad guy, or what. I'm not gonna let you dirty the Fairy Tail Guild's name!" Natsu exclaimed angrily as he continued to approach the formerly legitimate wizard.

"And what are you gonna do about it, stop me?" Bora asked mockingly.

The Fairy Tail pretender extended his arms outwardly a moment later, summoning a great amount of magic energy in the hopes of defeating the pink-haired teen in one blow.

"Providence Typhoon!" Bora exclaimed.

A large ray of dark-pink flames burst forth, charging directly at the Fairy Tail wizard that had just a moment ago challenged him. The section of the boat the young mage stood on was instantly engulfed in a cloud of fire and smoke, which subsequently caused the nearby observers to run in fear.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed in a worried fashion, believing the man she had only recently met to have been defeated.

The blonde-haired wizard made to move in order to assist her presumed friend, only to be stopped by a certain blue cat spreading its wings and flying in front of her with its hands spread out so as to clearly relay a message that she shouldn't go any further.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!" The nearby onlookers shrieked as they headed back towards the city.

"That's the way it goes. The bigger the talk the weaker the man… hmph…" Bora sneered, turning his back to the column of fire his attack had caused.

"Gah, this is so gross…" Natu's voice called out from within the flames.

'_What?!_' Bora thought out of sheer confusion, instantly turning to see how the boy was even able to speak.

When he did so, he could see the pink-haired mage standing within the ball of raging fire as if it wasn't even there. In fact, he was patting his mouth as if he was trying to keep down something unsettling. Moreover, he seemed calm and confident, something no one thought to be possible given his current situation.

"Are you sure that you're really a fire wizard, cuz' these are the nastiest flames I've ever tasted." Natsu griped, after which he literally began to swallow the very fire that surrounded his body.

"WHAT?!" Many exclaimed, not having believed this was even possible.

'_Did he just eat fire… he just ate fire… right?_' Lucy wondered confusedly, her words momentarily failing her.

The faux-Salamander and his crew watched as the teen finished devouring the fire, after which he just seemed to wipe off his mouth as if he really had just finished eating a meal.

"What the hell is going on here, who is this kid?!" Bora exclaimed in a panicked fashion.

"Fire magic doesn't work on Natsu." Happy commented from his position next to the blonde-haired celestial mage.

"I've never seen anything like that before…" Lucy said in an awestruck tone.

"Now I've got a fire in my belly that's raging to get out." Natsu stated menacingly as he walked forwards slightly in preparation for his upcoming attack.

The pink-haired mage pounded his fists together, an aura of fire surrounding his body as he puffed up his cheeks. It didn't seem as if any of his opponents were capable of doing anything to stop them, be that out of confusion or stupidity. Needless to say, the following attack would undoubtedly hit its mark.

"Fire Dragon Roar!" Natsu exclaimed, launching a colossal torrent of fire directly at the Fairy Tail pretender and his gang.

A massive explosion ensued, causing a large puff of smoke to shoot into the sky so high that it likely could have been seen from anywhere in the city. The resulting winds echoed for several miles, and when the dust had finally settled most of Bora's men were lying on the ground, either being knocked out or smart enough to know they shouldn't continue to fight.

The boss himself, however, safely floated on a large collection of flames that kept him suspended in mid-air. He was not harmed in the slightest, but very clearly he was rattled by what had just happened.

"Bora, I swear I've seen this guy before. That pink hair, that scaly lookin' scarf… there's no doubt about it, he's gotta be the real one." One of the defeated men said nervously.

'_He's the real Salamander?!_' Lucy thought out of surprise. Given what she had seen thus far it did make sense, but even so it was extremely difficult to believe.

"You got that right pal…" Natsu trailed off with a confident smirk.

An instant later he balled both his left and right hands into respective fists, summoning flames to surround them shortly thereafter. Such force was generated by the flames that the surrounding wood cracked and tore just at their formation.

"I hope you guys are paying attention, cuz' this is what a real Fairy Tail wizard can do!" Natsu exclaimed before charging forwards, his sights set on a certain overconfident mage that had irked him so much in the past day of his life.

"Don't get cocky!" Bora exclaimed.

As the pink-haired mage approached, he pushed both of his hands together and called forth a large magic seal from his suspended position.

"Red Shower!" Bora shouted, launching a barrage of bullet-like flame spheres directly at his opponent.

Though the projectiles were fast and substantial in number, the dragon slayer sidestepped each of them and continued to dodge even while in midair, leaping towards the false pretender in an attempt to punch him into another dimension.

"GYA!" Natsu grunted, sending his fist forwards and making direct contact with what he thought to be either his opponent's face or midsection.

The end result was a certain cocky fire mage being sent across the city so quickly that for a short period of time velocity rings surrounded his body. He hit a random building several moments later, the impact of which caused a small uproar of dust to shoot into the air.

Natsu began to walk towards the obvious landing site of his opponent, clearly not wanting to relent so quickly. Lucy, on the other hand, was still trying to grasp exactly what the teen's magical powers were.

"So he eats fire and then attacks with it? But how does he do it, is it some kind of spell?" Lucy wondered aloud, though the dragon slayers closest friend was nearby to explain.

"He has dragon lungs that allow him to breathe fire, dragon scales that help him to dissolve the fire, and dragon claws for attacking with fire. His brand of fire magic is one that allows him to take on all the qualities of a dragon. It's an ancient spell that's rarely used anymore." Happy explained.

"Seriously?" Lucy asked, clearly amazed that this was even possible.

"This particular magic was originally used to deal with dragons. That's why it's called dragon slayer magic." Happy replied.

"We should get into the city and find out if he needs any help." Lucy stated before running off.

"But Natsu doesn't…" Happy began urgently, however the blonde had already started heading towards the city.

The blue-furred cat began to head after the woman he still couldn't quite remember the name off, figuring that it didn't really matter in the long run. Without any hindrance, the two began to make their way towards the dragon slayer, and additionally the fake Fairy Tail mage.

_**Hargeon Town: Remote Section of the City, Bora's Crash Site **_

'_What the hell just happened?_' Bora wondered, rubbing his head slightly as he picked himself up.

The former legitimate mage scowled heavily upon thinking back to being punched so hard by an opponent he had severely underestimated. He wasn't about to let the kid get away with such an insult to his skill.

"You had enough yet?" Natsu questioned as he approached the sizeable hole in the building his opponent had crashed into.

"You…" Bora growled out, the mere sound of the Salamander's voice irritating him more than any man ever had previously in his life.

In an attempt to give himself a bit of space, Bora willed his fire to propel him far into the air so that he would be able to view his opponent from a different angle and potential mount a counteroffensive. A bead of sweat made its way down his cheek as he saw his opponent surely had more in store for him, but even so the battle wasn't over yet.

"Don't talk as if you've beaten me already. This fight is far from over!" Bora exclaimed.

The infamous wizard extended the palm of his right hand and shot a powerful ray of pink fire directly at his opponent, only for it to be carelessly dodged before it could land a direct hit. Natsu appeared atop a nearby structure a moment later, his eyes fixed in a glare at the faux-Salamander as the nearby building he had stood in fully collapsed.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed as she ran up to the nearby area, seeing that the fight had come to a standstill.

"I'm here too!" Happy exclaimed cheerfully, pumping a fist into the air from atop the blonde's shoulder.

A moment of silence took over, both Natsu and his opponent just staring at each other in order to see who would make the first move.

"Get ready Salamander…" Bora began, bringing his arms back as if to prepare for an attack.

Natsu in turn readied to either devour or dodge the expected fire-based magic that would have been launched, but then something occurred that neither he nor Bora nor anyone within the city expected to happen.

Abruptly what appeared to be a hole in space appeared in the skies, about the same height as that at which Bora floated. It was rectangular in shape, and the insides appeared to be a blindingly light shade of blue.

'_What the hell is that?_' Bora thought confusedly.

The fact that the gate shot into existence, however, was soon made to be the second most surprising thing about it. Something that appeared to have the shape of a man shot out of it shortly after it appeared, the form of which was covered in smoke.

Whatever had so suddenly appeared landed on a nearby building rather easily, still covered in the remaining smoke as the ethereal portal closed just as quickly as it had come into existence.

Each participant and observer in the battle just stared blandly as the smoke finally disappeared off of the man's form. They saw someone that appeared to be no older than eighteen years of age. He had orange hair, brown eyes, and appeared to be fairly tall.

That, to most, would be perfectly normal to see. However, that is where his appearance ceased its sense of normalcy. The orange-haired man wore a black shihakusho, a thick red strap that ran across his chest, had tattoo like bands crossing over his chest, wrists, and ankles, wore standard-looking sandals, and, perhaps most strangely off all, sported a large cleaver-like sword wrapped in white cloth across his back.

"What in the name of…" Bora muttered as he gazed at the new arrival.

'_Did this guy somehow come to back him up? I've never seen anyone travel like that before…_' Lucy thought confusedly.

Ichigo looked at his surroundings briefly, a look of mild confusion written on his face. Internally he was extremely glad that the restrictive current hadn't killed him outright, however if it hadn't killed him he knew it had to be something else. If it had just spit him out in some random place within the world of the living that'd just be too good to be true, and with his luck that was never the case.

'_Okay… this is definitely not right._' Ichigo thought, noticing the odd architecture of the surrounding area and the general feel he got from wherever he was.

He turned a moment later to look at what appeared to be a caped man suspended in the air by a pink, fire-like substance, a teen wearing next to nothing with pink-hair, as well as a blonde-haired woman and a blue cat. To be honest, the blonde-haired girl was the least weird thing he had seen, but due to the fact that she was near a blue cat his perception was somewhat offset.

"Yeah… this is definitely not right." Ichigo muttered to himself before releasing a sigh of extreme annoyance.

"Kid, who the hell are you?" Bora questioned from his position in the air.

The fire mage got the attention of the orange-haired teen an instant later, having been the first to actually break free of his confusion in order to inquire as to who or what exactly he was.

"I'm…" Ichigo began.

Before he could fully make his reply the sound of yet another portal's opening, the very same as that which had previously been created, had cut him off. Each of those present once again looked as what Ichigo knew to be a Senkaimon as yet again something was cast out of it in a puff of smoke.

Ichigo, who had been the closest to this event's unfolding, narrowed his eyes skeptically in order to see who or what it was. The form of it was clearly a man but it was currently falling so quickly he seemed to be knocked out or unable to collect himself, which meant it was possibly just a normal human. Whoever it was wore clothes typical of where he was from and had orange hair, the sight of which caused a realization to dawn on the freshly arrived Substitute Soul Reaper.

'_Wait a minute…_' Ichigo thought.

He began to panic the very second that he realized the falling man was in fact his own body, and he knew very well that it was in no way capable of stopping itself from hitting the dirt like a rock.

Each of the others present sweatdropped at the sight of the orange-haired man diving across another building to grab what looked like an exact replica of himself. However, the freshly arrived version seemed to be wearing much more normal clothing though they were obviously still foreign.

'_What the hell?!_' Ichigo wondered, glaring angrily at the sky. None of what had just happened made any sense to him, and even more so he didn't even know where he was.

'_Even if I'm here somehow it doesn't make sense that my body would follow._' Ichigo thought in an annoyed fashion.

A moment later he reached into his pocket so as to check for something, and he almost let out a hard sigh of relief upon feeling the shape and texture of his Substitute Soul Reaper's Badge. He recalled not leaving it on his body, and quite frankly if he didn't have the thing with him now he either wouldn't have been able to access his powers after entering his body, or he would have had to drag his body around so he wouldn't be powerless twenty-four-seven.

From the perspective of everyone else, this was also true in that nothing made sense to them. This random person dressed so strangely just appeared out of nowhere and a moment later what looked to be a differently dressed unconscious version of himself followed. Certainty this cracked the strangeness scale for each of them.

'_Why are there two of him?_' Natsu and Lucy wondered similarly. Happy appeared to be chewing on a fish as if to say he had either been distracted or somehow not noticed just yet.

"Alright kid, just who the hell are you?!" Bora exclaimed, his level of anger and annoyance rising in the wake of the multiple events that just continued to confuse him.

The substitute looked over at the hovering from of the caped man an instant later, but he paused after realizing something he hadn't before.

'_Wait… they can all see me. Even if this guy has spirit energy that doesn't explain why the other two can clearly see me._' Ichigo thought.

Ichigo felt out the air around him, however doing so confused him more so than prior. He could definitely sense that there was something within the air as far as he could tell, but he didn't know for the life of him what it was. It wasn't spiritual energy, as it would have a feel more akin to Hueco Mundo or the Soul Society, even the world of the living to a degree, but at the same time it was of the same abundance.

'_Maybe whatever energy is in wherever I am is allowing them to see me…_' Ichigo thought.

Moreover, he could feel a certain power emanating off of the bodies of most everyone in the city. It again was definitely not spirit energy, but it still existed. His thoughts, however, were rather rudely interrupted before he could consider anything more.

"Kid, I asked you a question! Who or what the hell are you?!" Bora shouted angrily.

"Sorry about that…" Ichigo began.

The fire mage looked at him strangely, especially since the teen seemed to be rather genuine in his words. From his perspective he had been demanding, but it seemed as if whoever the kid was he was of the impression that the apology was needed. In truth, Ichigo just acknowledged that his presence was likely a great source of confusion and he had been spacing out for his own reasons while at the same time ignoring the question that was asked of him multiple times.

"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Soul Reaper. Can you tell me where who you are and where we are exactly?" Ichigo questioned.

"W-what…" Bora stuttered off out of disbelief.

"We're in Hargeon Town." Lucy answered warily, her thoughts also being those of disbelief.

"And that's where exactly?" Ichigo questioned, causing most present to sweatdrop.

"You seriously don't know where we are?" Lucy wondered aloud.

"That reminds me, why did you even bother coming?" Bora questioned condescendingly, causing a tick mark to appear on the blonde's forehead.

"Shut up you sicko! After trying to sell me and those other girls into human slavery what makes you think you should even be allowed to speak?!" Lucy shouted angrily.

The orange-haired teen's ears seemed to perk up at this and his expression quickly changed to a rather ominous scowl and glare. He very clearly wasn't happy, and the object of his anger appeared to have something to do with Bora.

"You tried to do _what_?" Ichigo asked dangerously, his glare slightly unnerving the fire mage.

"It can't be helped if she's sore about it. However now that my plan is ruined I'll just have to get rid of her and this fire mage. In fact, if you wish to stand in my way I'll add you to the list." Bora stated confidently.

"Is that so? Now I can't really let you do that for obvious reasons. However, I'll give you this warning. Get as far away from here as possible and I won't kick your ass." Ichigo said, still holding his characteristic scowl and glare.

"Hahahahaha! Sorry, but I don't think…" Bora said.

Before the infamous fire mage could finish his sentence he heard the sound of the white bandages coming off of the teen's sword and the subsequent sound of a body leaping into the air. He moved back a moment later in order to dodge, but much to his, and everyone else's, surprise, his flesh was pierced.

Blood fell down to the streets of the city as Bora recoiled back in the air. The wound itself hadn't been deep due to the fact that he had moved away, but nevertheless he didn't think in a million years the kid would have been that quick.

'_Whoa…_' Natsu, Lucy, and Happy thought similarly.

"What the hell…" Bora muttered to himself. He looked back over at the form of the orange-haired teen, seeing that he was now atop another building following his leap into the air with the large cleaver resting across his shoulders.

"I did warn you so you can't complain." Ichigo stated, his expression neutral and his tone calm. However because this was the case it sounded more and more mocking to the fire mage than anything the dragon slayer had said thus far.

"You… you… you insolent little… I will burn you into ashes!" Bora exclaimed.

He brought forth both of his hands and fired off a massive ray of energy like he had before. However, this was more concentrated and its target more precise.

'_I'd better try to sto…_' Natsu thought, only to be unable to finish his mental sentence.

In front of his and everyone else's eyes, the black-clad teen brought forth his sword and blocked the massive torrent of manifested magical energy with only his blade, which subsequently caused their eyes to widen out of shock. Within a moment after that, all Ichigo did was swing his sword off to the side and the attack was instantly reflected before it dissipated into the air.

'_That's… not possible… with just a sword he was able to deflect that much magic energy like it was nothing?!_' Bora wondered confusedly.

"My turn…" Ichigo trailed off, bringing his sword back once more.

Bora's eyes widened significantly at his opponent's words, but he was still far too shocked by what had just happened to do anything about what happened next. The large cleaver was swung across the air in front of the substitute, and with it shot forth a massive ray of concentrated wind that was caused by the sheer force behind the swing.

The fire mage shot even further up into the sky, his magical flames that had kept him suspended vanishing after he took the hit. His body was now sporting a singular slash from the man's first attack, and the rest of his skin was slightly bruised just due to whatever attack this kid had just fired, he just assumed because of the force behind the gust that it had to be wind magic.

"Your technique was strong, but it wasn't even close to strong enough!" Bora exclaimed as he once again summoned his Red Carper to keep himself stabilized.

"You think that was a technique of some kind?" Ichigo asked somewhat amusedly, causing those present to quirk a curious brow.

"What do you mean?" Bora asked skeptically.

"That wasn't an attack or a technique I am capable of using, it was just the force that resulted from my swing." Ichigo explained, once again resting Zangetsu across his shoulders.

'_From his swing?!_' Lucy and Happy thought, sweating slightly at the prospect of what one of this guy's actual attacks could do.

'_Hmm… not too shabby._' Natsu thought with a grin.

"Where the hell did you even come from?!" Bora exclaimed.

"That's my line… where are we again? As in what world?" Ichigo questioned, sounding serious.

'_He has to be kidding… right?_' Lucy wondered with a deadpanned expression.

Once again the faux-Salamander seemed to be extremely confused by his opponent's words. However, he quickly shook his head, refusing to allow the kid to mess with him in such an obvious way.

"Idiot's just messing with me…" Bora said to himself.

"Who are you calling an idiot?" Ichigo questioned in an annoyed tone.

"Why you little… perish!" Bora exclaimed, extending both of his hands and launching a colossal ball of pink fire at the black-clad teen.

Ichigo merely jumped out of the way and into the nearby streets, deciding that deflecting the attack would likely have served no purpose at this point. However, when he expected a large explosion nothing seemed to come.

He glanced back at the area that attack had landed and saw the pink-haired teen holding it back with both of his hands.

"Thanks for the meal, new guy." Natsu stated, obviously referring to the orange-haired man.

Now it was Ichigo's turn to sweatdrop as he saw the dragon slayer begin to consume whatever type of energy projectile was launched at him. It was definitely strange, but even so he had seen much stranger.

'_Eating fire… that is new, though._' Ichigo thought as he saw the pink-haired mage wipe off his mouth.

"Hey, listen, do you care if I finish this guy off? It isn't that I mind, but you kinda jumped in before I got the chance to beat him into a pulp." Natsu stated, his hands balling into flaming fists as he spoke.

"Knock yourself out." Ichigo replied before walking towards the blonde-haired woman in order to see if he was at all needed. Plus, doing so would finally allow him to put his body down.

"You ready pale, cuz' I'm about ready to beat you into the next dimension." Natsu stated cheerfully before lunging at the fire mage.

The two began to fight across the town, likely destroying more property than most people ever got the chance to in their entire lives. On the other spectrum, Ichigo approached the blue-furred cat and the blonde-haired girl who seemed to be somehow connected with each of the fighters.

"You okay?" Ichigo questioned, placing the large cleaver back onto his back and allowing the white cloth to appear once again.

"Yeah… more importantly, are you?" Lucy asked warily.

"Um… of course, why wouldn't I be?" Ichigo responded.

"Because you…" Lucy began, only to be cut off as a large ray of pink magical energy ripped through what appeared to be half of the city.

"What the hell?" Ichigo wondered aloud, shielding his eyes from the resulting dust that shot across the city.

Each of them then saw Natsu fire off a massive ray of what appeared to be raw fire directly at the floating form of his opponent, not landing a direct hit but very clearly showing a good deal of strength.

"Exactly what kind of powers does that pink-haired guy have anyway?" Ichigo asked as he watched the battle.

"His brand of fire magic is one that allows him to take on all the qualities of a dragon." Happy explained.

Ichigo just looked down at the speaking blue feline normally and then nodded in understanding. Inwardly he was confused beyond belief, but the fact that he didn't outwardly seem so greatly confused Lucy. Dragon's, again, were new to him.

"So a cat just talks to you about dragons and its normal…" Lucy trailed off.

"What? No, that doesn't bother me." Ichigo replied, causing the blonde to deadpan.

"See, your just dumb is all!" Happy chirped reassuringly.

"Stupid cat…" Lucy grumbled underneath her breath.

'_Still… that cat said magic, right? Then if this place, wherever it is, does have some kind of energy… that must be what I feel in the air and what must be coming off of everyone. It's kind of similar to spiritual pressure, so I guess it isn't too farfetched that its abundance and the fact that everyone seems to have some form of that energy allows them to see me._' Ichigo thought.

He looked down at his body with a look akin to realization. The substitute had almost forgotten he was carrying his literal-self due to everything that happened. Given that the pink-haired 'mage', he supposed, was taking care of it, he saw no reason to stay in his spirit form. That in mind, he still needed someone to hold up his body so he could comfortably enter it, and with that he turned to the nervous-looking blonde once more.

"Hey, could…" Ichigo began, only to be cut off by the climax of Natsu's battle.

"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Natsu roared.

A moment later a resounding boom echoed throughout the immediate area just due to the contact of Natsu's attack with, unfortunately for a certain someone, Bora's face. The fire mage was sent flying across the city, ramming into buildings and streets alike before ultimately flying straight into a tower bell.

'_Not bad._' Ichigo thought.

"That's gotta hurt…" Lucy trailed off, wincing slightly.

"You bet it did, but the creep deserved it." Natsu stated matter-of-factly as he walked up to the group.

"I think you may have overdone it though…" Ichigo stated, looking at the enormous amount of destruction with a deadpanned expression.

"Oh wow! He really did." Lucy exclaimed.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

"Just shut it cat." Lucy growled.

"Anyway, thanks for the help, even if I didn't really need it." Natsu said in a friendly manner, giving a smile towards the orange-haired teen.

"No problem." Ichigo replied, giving off a small smile himself.

"By the way, what kind of magic do you use? The way you came here was really weird. It was like you just came out of nowhere." Natsu commented with a slight amount of amazement in his voice.

"Aye!" Happy exclaimed.

"About that… you see, I'm…" Ichigo began.

"There they are men!" A man shouted from nearby.

Each member of the croup, feline and human, looked towards the source of the abrupt shouting to find a large amount of army troops running in formation directly towards them. Even to Ichigo, that clearly wasn't a good thing.

"Ah crap! We gotta get going!" Natsu exclaimed.

The dragon slayer grabbed Lucy's wrist a moment later before he began sprinting as if he were running for his life. Happy followed in the air, but for a brief moment Ichigo just stood in place, now being highly confused yet again.

"Hey, guy, if you wanna stay out of trouble I suggest you run for it!" Natsu shouted as he continued to run.

The blonde began to say something to the pink-haired teen, but Ichigo couldn't quite make it out over the sound of marching soldiers. He figured that he could have fought them off, but given that he didn't really know where the hell he was, doing so would be a mistake. Thus, he threw his body over his shoulder and began to sprint after the two people who seemed nice enough to follow.

'_Maybe they can even tell me where the hell I am._' Ichigo thought.

"Don't let them get away men!" A soldier exclaimed as they continued to give chase.

**A/N Okay, so there are two chapters to this story that I posted on the initial publishing date at the same time. The reason for this is because I did the exact same thing for ****To Find The Heart**** and I think I will be doing the same for pretty much every fic I write since I think it's a nice theme. More information will be in the next chapter's A/N's and anything below this point will be a message to those who are curious about why I chose write this fic as opposed to the other option I offered as well as what this means for the future. **

_**Explanations**_:

**Why this Fic**: Okay, so the reason that I chose to write the Crossover fic were pretty numerous and I did think about it quite a bit. First of all I had to consider what people requested, obviously, but that didn't really help me make my decision as I had initially intended. The reason for this was because the votes were pretty much dead even, which really surprised me given that I posted the 'what do you want' question on a pure Bleach fic (TFTH). So since people were more or less split down the middle, I had to think about why I would write one over the other. The reason I thought the crossover was a better option was because 1) There isn't a really, really good BleachxFairy Tail fic that has been written _and_ finished as of yet, at least I don't think it's the case that one has been. 2) Writing the crossover allows me to wait out the Bleach manga for a bit which will hopefully allow me to make my next story more accurate and in general better, which will be a pure Bleach story unless people otherwise unanimously request. The recent chapters have kind of pissed me off, but I can change whatever I want so it's not a big deal in the long run. 3) I had to take into account which I felt like I was more motivated to write, and in all honestly I felt like writing the crossover mostly because of reason #1. The entire reason I wrote TFTH was because I didn't see any good Bleach fics being published and constantly and consistently updated, which I can understand but it is something that still bothers me.

**Will I still write the other mentioned Fic**: Yes, of course I will, barring any unexpected hindrances (Knock on wood). It will honestly just be a matter of time, which if I estimate conservatively will be around the same amount of time as TFTH, maybe a little sooner than that, I don't really know.

**Questions**: If you want to ask something about my decision or about this story, feel free to post in in a review or a PM.


	2. You're Not From Around Here, Are You?

**A/N Enjoy the chapter, since there's two of 'em! Also the end of this chapter will have an **_**Explanations**_: **section that address both of the chapters and not something else. **

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 2 **

"Hey, guy, if you wanna stay out of trouble I suggest you run for it!" Natsu shouted as he continued to run.

The blonde began to say something to the pink-haired teen, but Ichigo couldn't quite make it out over the sound of marching soldiers. He figured that he could have fought them off, but given that he didn't really know where the hell he was, doing so would be a mistake. Thus, he threw his body over his shoulder and began to sprint after the two people who seemed nice enough to follow.

'_Maybe they can even tell me where the hell I am._' Ichigo thought.

"Don't let them get away men!" A soldier exclaimed as they continued to give chase.

_**Fiore: Plains Leading to Magnolia, The Next Morning…**_

"Okay… I think we lost them." Natsu stated tiredly, looking back at the forests he and the others had just exited and seeing no one in pursuit of them.

"You think or know?!" Lucy asked in a panic. After all, she viewed herself as far too pretty to be sent to jail.

"I can't sense their presence running after us anymore, so they are either really far behind us or he's right." Ichigo said, looking back at the forests as he spoke.

"See, listen to…" Natsu began, only to stop upon realizing something.

The pink-haired mage brought his hand up to his chin a moment later to illustrate an expression of deep thought. Ichigo seemed somewhat confused by this, as did Lucy, but the blue Exceed just seemed to mimic the dragon slayer's actions.

"I just realized we never introduced ourselves." Natsu said.

"Well we did just have to outrun the army…" Lucy commented.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

"Anyway, name's Natsu, a wizard from the Fairy Tail Guild. I liked the way you stood up to that faker, by the way." Natsu said cheerfully, causing the orange-haired teen to chuckle slightly.

"My name is Lucy Heartfilia, and I'm just a girl trying to join a guild at the moment. I guess I should thank you for fighting that guy given what he did." Lucy stated.

"Aye!" Happy piped in.

"Does that cat have a name?" Ichigo questioned nonchalantly, causing the blonde's eyebrow to twitch.

"I still don't understand how a talking cat doesn't weird you out." Lucy thought aloud.

At this, the substitute released an inward chuckle given that he happened to have many encounters with a certain talking cat.

'_I just hope he's just a talking cat. I definitely don't need to have another encounter like my first one with Yoruichi…_' Ichigo thought.

"Why is a talking cat weird? If something like whatever magic is exists why would this be all that strange?" Ichigo countered.

"Fair point…" Lucy trailed off.

"Anyway, this little guy is Happy, and he's my best friend." Natsu stated happily, flashing a toothy smile towards the blue feline.

"Yup, that's me!" Happy said.

"Nice to meet you all. My name's Ichigo Kurosaki." He replied.

"And what's the name of the unconscious guy that looks just like you?" Natsu asked, pointing a finger at the human body of the orange-haired man. He, however, didn't know that was the case.

"Oh, actually that reminds me. Can one of you hold this up for a second?" Ichigo asked in a hopeful voice, likely because he knew it was an odd request.

"Sure." Natsu answered nonchalantly, causing the blonde to sweatdrop.

The pink-haired dragon slayer did so a moment later upon Ichigo handing the body off to him, after which said teen turned his back and prepared to enter his human form once again.

Both Lucy and Natsu watched with widened eyes as Ichigo's body essentially fell into the body of the man they presumed to be his twin at best. What was even more surprising was that after the body had evidently absorbed Ichigo it began to move until it eventually got up and walked in front of them, shaking off Natsu's grasp.

'_What the hell?_' Lucy and Natsu wondered similarly.

"Thanks for that." Ichigo said, breaking the two out of their respective dazes.

"What did you just do?" Lucy asked confusedly.

"I think a better question would be what kind of magic do you use and where are you from. You came out of nowhere back in Hargeon, you use a sword, and it looks like you've got two bodies somehow. I've never really seen anything like it!" Natsu exclaimed, though he sounded somewhat excited.

"About that… from what you've told me and from what I can gather I'm definitely not even from this dimension." Ichigo stated seriously.

Natsu, Lucy, as well as Happy looked at him with a clear sense of surprise immediately after this, the complete opposite of what the substitute had expected. He began to speculate that perhaps they believe him, but what occurred next shook off that expectation almost instantly.

"BWAHAHAHAHA!" Natsu laughed out, rolling on the ground and clenching his sides alongside his best friend.

Lucy herself was laughing so hard she was crying, however she had the decency to at least stand in place. The orange-haired teen watched with a deadpanned expression for a good five minutes before they stopped their humor-induced outburst, but then again he expected that kind of reaction. Better they laugh then think he was outright crazy.

"Oh wow… that was… funny…" Lucy said, wiping the remnants of her tears away with her hand before finally collecting herself.

'_Yeah, I figured you'd think that…_' Ichigo thought.

"But seriously, where are you from?" Lucy asked in a friendly manner, giving a small smile as she completely thought the teen's previous statement was a joke.

"I was trying to be serious, but I completely understand if you think I'm crazy. Hell, if I was in your position I'd probably think the same thing." Ichigo stated, somewhat confusing those who kept his company.

"Seriously, where are you from… it has to be somewhere in Fiore, right?" Lucy asked, though her tone was clearly unsure.

"Again, I'm probably not from this world, as weird as that sounds. As for how I got here, it beats the hell out of me. Even if I tried to explain everything I still don't think you'd believe me." Ichigo said honestly.

Lucy stared at the orange-haired teen with wide eyes and an expression of disbelief, but for more reasons than one. Firstly, it was very clear that he, at least, believed what he said was the truth, which meant that he wasn't lying as he saw it. Secondly, if that was true, then he was either completely insane or telling the absolute truth.

'_It doesn't seem like he's lying…_' Natsu thought, giving a good hard look at the teen's face. He could tell that Ichigo was calm, collected, and had no malicious intent behind his words. That would normally confuse him given the extremely outlandish information he was just given, but then again he figured he owed him the benefit of the doubt. On top of that, he had a scent about him that definitely wasn't anything he'd smelled before.

"Let's say you were telling the truth so far… how did you end up all the way here?" Natsu questioned, drawing a surprised glance from the blonde-haired girl.

"Well… from where I come from there are two separate dimensions that are connected by something called the Dangai, a precipice world or a world between worlds. It acts as sort of a bridge if you can imagine something like that. The lining of it is covered in something called a restrictive current, and, long story short, something happened that forced me to fall into it. The next thing I knew I landed straight into your fight." Ichigo replied.

"Restrictive current?" Lucy asked in a confused manner, obviously wanting some kind of description.

"The best I can describe it is a nasty-looking sludge or ooze." Ichigo replied, involuntarily shivering at the memory of being pushed and subsequently absorbed into it.

"Ewww." Happy said out of disgust.

Natsu didn't really seem to be effected, but Lucy grabbed her arms and shivered in a manner similar to that of Ichigo. Perfectly understandable given that it wasn't exactly something anyone would want to be thrown into, even just in an imaginary sense.

"Wait… so you're telling me that you're really from a different world?" Natsu questioned with a raised brow, though he sounded a bit skeptical.

"Yes, I am." Ichigo answered sternly, his voice full of truth.

Fairy Tail's resident dragon slayer stared at the orange-haired substitute in a serious manner for several moments, neither saying a word, just simply looking into each other's eyes. Lucy looked back and forth between the two nervously, mostly because she just couldn't read the situation properly. She just hoped it wouldn't end in a fight. However, what actually occurred was something that was extremely far off from what she had thought would occur.

"COOL!" Natsu exclaimed excitedly.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

"W-what…" Lucy stuttered out, seeing the cheerful reactions.

"That's awesome, you're gonna have to tell me what it was like." Natsu stated, giving a smile towards the man from another world, as it were.

'_That was… easier than I expected._' Ichigo thought. He, however, was not going to complain, especially since, for some reason or other, the truth seemed to make the dragon slayer excited.

"He's either really gullible or has a screw loose." Lucy thought aloud, breaking the substitute out of his thoughts.

"Then I take it that means you don't really believe me?" Ichigo questioned.

The blonde-haired mage turned to face the substitute with a surprised look, almost as if she didn't think her last comment was heard. Shortly thereafter she looked away in a bashful manner, not entirely sure what she thought at the moment.

"I mean… I guess given the type of magic that I use it isn't entirely unbelievable. Plus, the way you came here was a method I've never seen or heard of before." Lucy admitted, sounding as if she were trying to convince herself more than reply to the question.

"What kind of magic do you use that makes you believe what I said?" Ichigo asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, you wouldn't want to be bothered by my explanation." Lucy said in a bashful manner.

"You've got that right, Lacy." Happy stated matter-of-factly.

"It's Lucy!" She shouted angrily, glaring at the blue feline.

"Actually I'd like to hear about it, if it's all the same to you." Ichigo stated, somewhat to the blonde's surprise.

"I am a Celestial Spirit Mage, so my magic actually relies on beings from another dimension. I make contracts with creatures from the Celestial Spirit World and summon them by using gate keys. I just call on them whenever the contract allows me to and that lets me use them in various situations." Lucy explained.

"Gate keys?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"Oh, silly me. The keys look like this…" Lucy began, bringing out the series of keys she had collected thus far.

Ichigo took note of the different colors and forms of the keys, guessing that this had something to do with which spirit it would summon. The concept seemed to be very simple to him, and he supposed it would make her more open-minded to accepting what he had said.

"The silver keys are ones you can purchase at magic shops across Fiore, but the golden keys are the rarest. They open the twelve gates of the zodiac and the spirits that they summon are the strongest." Lucy continued.

"I see. That seems pretty straightforward to me." Ichigo replied.

"So what about you? I'm assuming that since you aren't completely blown away by what's happened to you and what this place is like that magic must exist in your world too, or am I wrong?" Lucy questioned, genuine curiosity in her voice.

"Well, I guess no… but it's really more complicated than that." Ichigo replied, confusing the blonde slightly with his answer.

"By the way, since you really don't have a clue where you are, maybe you want I should tell you a little bit about Fiore?" Natsu asked, supposing that even he could give the orange-haired teen the basic knowledge of his surroundings.

"Actually that'd be really helpful. Could you?" Ichigo replied, sounding grateful given the current circumstances.

"No fair Natsu, I wanted to tell him all the cool stuff!" Happy whined, tanking on the dragon slayer's pant leg.

"Alright buddy, why don't you field this one?" Natsu offered, happily giving the floor to his friend. It really didn't matter as long as the information was right, and Happy always did like to talk a lot more than he did.

"Fiore is a kingdom ruled by the Fiore family. As you can guess, Fiore has a pretty large population and some of the most talented mages in the entire world. Magic is commonplace in almost every town and those that have strong enough magic energy and develop good combat skills join guilds." Happy began.

"I remember you saying something about the Fairy Tail guild that you happen to be a part of. I think I can guess, but just to be sure exactly what is a guild?" Ichigo inquired.

"A guild is…" Natsu began.

"A guild is a place where wizards from all across the world can go in order to find work and take job requests. Also they join together with others in order to improve their skills and in some cases they gain a family." Happy answered, cutting his friend off.

"Hey!" Natsu exclaimed, having wanted to answer the substitute's question.

"Sorry Natsu, you snooze you lose." Happy replied, crossing his arms in a triumphant fashion.

"Why you…" Natsu trailed off threateningly.

Happy began to run from his presumed best friend a moment later, doing so in circles as it didn't seem that either of them was particularly adept at catching the other or running from the other. That didn't really make any sense since the cat could fly, but Ichigo supposed that he had seen stranger things.

"Would you mind telling me what kind of money people use here?" Ichigo questioned, directing said inquiry to the blonde that had also been observing the friendly confrontation.

"Oh, Fiore's currency is Jewels… but I assume you don't have any." Lucy said, ending on a somewhat sympathetic note.

"Don't worry, I'll figure something out." Ichigo assured.

"Yeah… by the way, you're taking all of this really, really well. I mean, if I was in your position, I'd probably be so lost and confused." Lucy stated, sounding slightly impressed.

"Ironically, this doesn't even count as even one of the top five things I've found hard to believe." Ichigo replied.

'_What kind of world are you from?!_' Lucy wondered, not entirely sure if she really wanted the answer to her would-be question.

"To be honest I half expected both of you to think I was insane. I mean I claimed to be from a different dimension, I came in out of nowhere, wear clothes that probably aren't normal if I know my luck, and I even walked around with my own body over my shoulder for a majority of the time I've known you." Ichigo listed off, actually questioning the decision of his two new acquaintances to trust him.

It didn't seem all that bad if you spaced it out, but putting it all together made it seem extremely hard to believe, even if it was the truth.

"Oh yeah… speaking of which, what's up with that?" Natsu asked confusedly, ceasing his pursuit of Happy for the time being.

"It's a bit of a long explanation…" Ichigo trailed off, unsure of whether or not the dragon slayer actually wanted to hear it.

"I'm all ears." Natsu replied.

"Same." Lucy commented.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

"Alright then… but it won't make any sense unless I explain a few things beforehand. Firstly, magic energy doesn't really exist in my world. There are two… well, technically three, realms of existence from where I'm from. There is the world of the living, the Soul Society, and a place called Hueco Mundo." Ichigo began, the others listening intently to his words.

"The world of the living is a place you can think of as similar to this world except no one really has the ability to use magic. They are pretty much all powerless save for a very select few." He continued.

"You mean like you?" Lucy asked, getting a nod as a response.

"Yes, like me. Then there's the Soul Society, which is linked to the world of the living by something called the Dangai, which I explained to you earlier. The Soul Society is a place where souls go to rest after their earthly bodies pass away. Basically you can think of it as the afterlife. Souls possess spiritual energy, and that is why normal humans can't see them. Souls also have the power to use their spiritual energy in different ways, which I guess makes it similar to magic energy." Ichigo stated.

'_So that's why I can feel some kind of energy on him…_' Natsu thought.

"Those who have enough spiritual energy become Soul Reapers, who are essentially people that police the souls, if that makes any sense. The reason is because some souls don't instantly depart for the Soul Society and that's where the concept of a Soul Reaper comes in. They enter the world of the living and guide the souls to the Soul Society. This is necessary because a soul is beyond the realm of existence of a normal human, so even though they can touch physical objects they themselves can't be seen, which means that they could potentially cause trouble." Ichigo continued.

"I guess that makes sense, but what about that other place… umm, Hueco Mando?" Natsu asked.

"It's Hueco Mundo, and I was getting to it… you see, there is another reason souls have to be guided to the Soul Society, and that's because if they don't then the soul becomes what is called a hollow. Basically hollows consume other souls both to gain more spiritual energy and to survive." Ichigo began.

"Ewww." Happy exclaimed.

"For once I agree…" Lucy said, wincing slightly at the thought of anything actually consuming her physical body.

"Ditto. By the way, thanks for finding something that can spoil my appetite… I really didn't think anything in existence could do that." Natsu commented, clenching his stomach slightly.

"Sorry about that… anyway, where was I? Oh, right, hollows are… wait, do demons or something like that exist here?" Ichigo asked, guessing that if magic existed than maybe something that goes along with that concept did as well.

"Yeah, they do actually." Lucy replied, however she had never actually seen one herself.

'_Figures…_' Ichigo thought with a deadpanned expression.

"Well think of them like that. Hueco Mundo is where they live, and Soul Reapers also protect the world of the living from them. Most Soul Reapers, however, are actually souls, whereas I am still a living human being who is able to use powers by accessing my soul form. Because of that fact I am a Substitute Soul Reaper, so I have the duties of a Soul Reaper but I am still a living human." Ichigo explained.

"That's really cool." Natsu said cheerfully.

"Aye!" Happy exclaimed.

"Wait, so how exactly does that work?" Lucy asked.

"Oh, that's actually pretty simple. I just touch this badge and I can exit my body at will. I can show you if one of you can catch me before I hit the ground." Ichigo replied.

Both Lucy and Natsu nodded in understanding, after which the orange-haired teen turned his back to them and prepared to exit his body. Within a moment later, his hand firmly grabbed the wooden skull bade that was attached to his side, shortly after which his body shot backwards and his 'soul form' was left standing, sword and all.

He turned to see his body had been caught by Lucy and Natsu in unison, but their eyes were firmly fixed on what his soul form looked like, as were those of Happy. Ichigo had assumed this would be the case, especially since prior they didn't really know the significance of what he looked like.

'_Still, I am glad that the pass still works properly, otherwise I'd be in some trouble. Moreover, if the pass still works then maybe the Soul Society can still track me, and if that's the case maybe they can come get me out of this dimension._' Ichigo thought.

It wasn't entirely ludicrous to think that if the Dangai had thrust him into this world that his and theirs was somehow connected, which meant that the combat pass was likely still traceable. In addition, the concept of magic was remotely similar to that of spiritual energy and they could even see him in his soul form. This took quite a bit of pressure off of him given that know he knew for a fact that it wasn't entirely on him to find his own way back, a situation that was very much so less than preferable.

"Then when I'm like this all I have to do is enter my body again and I'm fine." Ichigo stated.

He did just that a moment later, after which he freed himself of both Natsu and Lucy's respective grips and picked himself off, turning to face them shortly thereafter.

"That was really interesting. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before." Lucy said as if deep in thought.

"I want to do it, let me try!" Natsu exclaimed, after which he grabbed the combat pass.

When nothing happened the pink-haired mage began to look around, inwardly wondering if it had actually worked. Upon seeing that his body wasn't lying on the ground nearby, he just poked the wooden badge once more, after which he began to scratch his head in a confused manner.

"It kind of only works for me…" Ichigo clarified.

"Figures…" Natsu grumbled.

"To be honest I was surprised that you two could see me when I first got here. Like I said earlier, living humans usually cant." Ichigo stated.

"Going back to what you said, I think it has something to do with the magical properties of this world. If what you said about spiritual energy and magic energy being similar is true then it doesn't seem too far out there." Lucy mused.

"I still don't know what this spirit energy stuff feels like." Natsu stated.

"I don't know how well this will work, but I can try to raise it." Ichigo stated.

The orange-haired teen shut his eyes a moment alter, trying to focus as best as he could to let his spiritual pressure flow outwardly. He knew very well that doing so in his human body wasn't particularly easy, but still he could try.

For a short period of time, a massive spike of raw energy tore through the air around them, so much so that all those save form Ichigo widened their eyes at the abruptness and intensity. It died down very quickly, but still its presence was undeniable.

"So, how was that?" Ichigo asked, wanting to know if they had been able to feel his rising spiritual energy.

'_That was… really weird… but it was also really powerful._' Lucy thought. From what she could tell the feel of spiritual energy was outlandish and strange compared to magic energy, but still it seemed just as potent, if not more so.

"Not bad… it's definitely not magic energy but it's really powerful. I think it's got me itchin' for a fight." Natsu said with a grin.

"Maybe later." Ichigo said evenly, though he truly wasn't in the mood for a confrontation at the moment.

"Killjoy." Natsu grumbled.

The substitute then glanced at the blonde-hired celestial mage, taking note that she still seemed awestruck by the feel of spiritual energy. She should have been somewhat surprised, that was understandable, but not on this level.

"After everything that I've said, you really shouldn't be so surprised." Ichigo stated jokingly, effectively breaking the female teen out of her daze.

"That's true… even if I do believe you though, it is hard to buy that you're from a different dimension." Lucy replied.

"I don't think it's all that hard to believe. Ichigo seems honest, and I like that." Natsu stated.

"That's really the reason you believed me so easily?" Ichigo asked with a raised brow.

The dragon slayer adopted an expression of thought for a moment, after which he appeared to return to his cheerful demeanor and made to speak once again.

"Well I am kinda used to people not believing me when I tell them how I grew up and where I come from. My father was Igneel, king of the fire dragons, and since dragons have been thought dead for ages most people don't believe me, at least not until I show them dragon slayer magic." Natsu replied.

"How does that work by the way, you being raised by a dragon, I mean." Ichigo said, just assuming that the teenage wizard was not actually the offspring of a dragon.

Ichigo figured that if Natsu was kind enough to give him the benefit of the doubt he would do the same. On top of that, he was familiar with the concept of Soul Reapers and hollows so magic and dragons didn't really take a big leap forwards to believe. In some ways it was a step back.

"Igneel raised me when I was little and taught me how to use dragon slayer magic. One day he just left, though, and ever since I've been looking for him. At some point I joined Fairy Tail, but whenever I hear a rumor I head out and start searchin'." Natsu explained.

"I see… sorry to hear that." Ichigo said, not entirely sure how to respond given he didn't know the pink-haired mage's feelings on the mater.

"I was actually in Hargeon looking for Igneel. Someone told me that the Salamander had been spotted and I thought it had to be him. Turned out to be that poser that you fought for a little bit… man that guy really pissed me off." Natsu stated, gritting his teeth together at the end of his speech.

"But… I've been on a few of these types of runs and they've never made me give up before. Actually I should thank you for helping me out a bit back there, so if you ever need a favor feel free to ask." Natsu continued, giving a thumbs up to the orange-haired substitute.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

"Thanks… actually, there is something you could help me with. Do you know anyone that could help me out with my situation?" Ichigo asked with clear hope in his voice.

The dragon slayer hummed in thought for a moment, after which he snapped his fingers as if in realization. Ichigo hoped to god that this meant he knew something that could help him or, perhaps, someone.

"I've got it! Maybe my guild's master can help you out. We're already half-way to Magnolia, and when we're there I can take you to Fairy Tail so you can ask him anything you want!" Natsu exclaimed, rather happy that he had thought of this solution.

"What about you, Lucy? I don't want to hold you up, so if…" Ichigo began, only to be cut off.

"Don't worry about Larry. She is coming with us because she wants to join Fairy Tail too!" Happy assured.

"My name is Lucy you stupid cat!" Lucy shouted.

"I am not stupid, you're stupid!" Happy shouted back, prompting the blonde to chase after the winged feline in a fit of rage.

"Anyway… you ready to get goin', Ichigo?" Natsu asked, flashing a grin towards the substitute.

For a moment Ichigo stood in place as if deep in thought. Given his current options were to either wander around in search of someone who might be able to help him or travel with Natsu for the same purpose, he supposed it was far more efficient to do so with someone who had a clue as to where they were going.

'_This is by far my best option to take… but I just hope the Fairy Tail guild master can help me out._' Ichigo thought.

"Um… are you ready?" Natsu asked in an unsure tone, confused as to why the orange-haired teen had spaced out on him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, lead the way." Ichigo answered.

Natsu flashed a toothy grin before he turned heel and began to run off towards what Ichigo could only assume to be Magnolia and subsequently Fairy Tail. As the two ran, Happy and Lucy followed close behind, though the blonde was still chasing said cat, who once again seemed to forget he could fly.

_**Magnolia: Outside the Fairy Tail Guild, Some Time Later…**_

The four stood in the front of a large building that seemed rather quant and peaceful if anyone were to walk by it. Ichigo looked at it with a small sense of hope, Lucy with a sense of awe and wonder as this was the first time she had seen a guildhall before, but Natsu and Happy looked at it with nostalgia in their eyes and smiles on their faces.

If any place on the face of this world could be classified as their home, it would be this guildhall, and with this in mind they began to walk forwards, Ichigo and Lucy following shortly thereafter.

When they reached the doors of the building, Natsu flashed a toothy grin, not even bothering to look back at his new acquaintances. He prepared to open the door in an excited fashion, just knowing somewhere in his heart that both Ichigo and Lucy would love it.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail…" Natsu said before making to open the door.

**A/N Well, there you have it. Expect the next chapter to be posted next Monday at some point, in which I will answer reviews and such. It should be noted that I usually update twice a week, and expect the two days chosen to remain constant unless one chapter is particularly long, like around 10,000 words or something. However, as of yet I have not pinpointed the second day I will be posting chapters, but rest assured I will mention it next chapter on Monday. **

_**Explanations**_:

**Natsu's Reaction**: I just felt that this was a very in character reaction for him. He tries to see the good in people and it just seems like this is the reaction he would have. Even on the Cursed Island he reacted to the demons by saying they looked cool, which only goes to show that he isn't weirded out easily.

**Lucy's Reaction**: She's a celestial spirit mage, so it would make sense for her to believe other realms of existence are actually possible. I feel like I don't need to say much more on this since circumstances just make that seem more plausible to her as opposed to some other members of Fairy Tail, who's reactions you will see next chapter.

**Spirit Energy vs. Magic Energy**: So, for this, I do have something planned for the relationship, but as was somewhat delved into this chapter and a bit last chapter, the two are similar. Otherwise Ichigo wouldn't be capable of being seen in his soul form, which would make this story just… well, a lot more difficult to write if I am being honest xD. Anyway, I view spirit energy as a more potent version of magic energy and that will continue to show in the future, also keep in mind that nothing like it exists on Earthland so Ichigo will be getting a few raised brows every now and then.

**Ichigo's Body**: For this, I cannot tell you why it followed him or why the Dangai did what it did. One of them was set up, I will tell you that much, but by who will not be revealed for a long, long, long time. This will likely end up being a trilogy, and yes I do think that far ahead so just deal with a bit of ambiguity for the time being. Also, just having it there makes it a lot easier to write Ichigo in more normal situations. It would be weird if he dressed in regular clothing and just had Zangetsu strapped across his back, and on top of that if I do this then I can set up a few twists and turns.

**Why is Ichigo so calm**: To be honest I can't picture him freaking out just because he was sent to a different dimension/universe. Technically he's been to three different ones, being the Soul Society, the world of the living, and Hueco Mundo. Moreover he's seen a lot of weird stuff, so I can't picture him thinking of magic as all that amazing. He is also focused on finding out if there is a way he can get back home, but you will see how that turns out next chapter/next Monday.


	3. Welcome to Fairy Tail!

**A/N Well here's the moment you've hopefully all been waiting for! Ichigo officially meets Fairy Tail, so without any further delay…**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 3 **

The four stood in the front of a large building that seemed rather quant and peaceful if anyone were to walk by it. Ichigo looked at it with a small sense of hope, Lucy with a sense of awe and wonder as this was the first time she had seen a guildhall before, but Natsu and Happy looked at it with nostalgia in their eyes and smiles on their faces.

If any place on the face of this world could be classified as their home, it would be this guildhall, and with this in mind they began to walk forwards, Ichigo and Lucy following shortly thereafter.

When they reached the doors of the building, Natsu flashed a toothy grin, not even bothering to look back at his new acquaintances. He prepared to open the door in an excited fashion, just knowing somewhere in his heart that both Ichigo and Lucy would love it.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail…" Natsu said before making to open the door.

_**Inside the Guildhall**_

"What's up everyone, we made it back alive!" Natsu shouted upon entering the building.

"We're home!" Happy chirped, flying behind the shoulder of the dragon slayer with a smile spread across his lips.

Somewhat to Ichigo's surprise given Natsu's method of entrance, the members of the guild looked over towards the pink-haired mage with smiles on their faces and only joy in their eyes. It was the same look he saw whenever he entered the home and greeted his own two sisters, yet here it seemed to be a commonplace expression despite the fact that these people couldn't all possibly be related by blood.

"What's up Natsu? Welcome back." One of the members said quietly before taking another sip of his drink.

"Good ta' see ya kid." Another commented.

'_Wow, this place is so vibrant._' Lucy thought, smiling as she allowed the essence of what it was to be in an actual guildhall flow through her mind.

Ichigo just kept looking around observationally in order to get a better sense of what people from Fairy Tail were like, and, outside of several peoples' choice in outfits, everything appeared to be rather normal. Moreover everyone seemed very laid back and relaxed, but that part he had expected just from knowing Natsu a short while. He couldn't really picture the fire mage being a part of anything that was remotely regimented.

"So I heard you went all out in Hargeon, Natsu. Had to go start some trou…" A man began.

Sadly, said man didn't get to finish his sentence as the foot of the pink-haired dragon slayer quickly made contact with his face. He flew across the room a moment later, destroying a table in his path and successfully confusing both Ichigo and Lucy, however only one of them was afflicted with a mild sense of panic.

'_The hell did he just do that for?_' Ichigo wondered confusedly.

"Why did you do that?!" Lucy exclaimed, her words mirroring exactly what was going through the substitute's head just a moment prior.

"You lied about that Salamander, I'm gonna kick your ass!" Natsu stated matter-of-factly, speaking to the man who currently lay in the debris of a wooden table and effectively ignoring the blonde's question.

Ichigo just looked at the dragon slayer with a deadpanned expression, not actually believing anyone would fight for that reason. But with how the man reacted it became very clear that the desire to fight was mutual.

"Don't get mad at me, I'm not the one to blame here. I was just passing along a rumor I heard." The man countered.

"It was just a rumor?!" Natsu questioned in an angry tone.

"You wanna fight?" The man challenged.

"Let's go!" Natsu shouted in response.

The two then charged at one another and began throwing punches and fists, but the rest of the guild just watched like it was nothing special. In fact several of them didn't even seem to notice the squabble was occurring.

However, most of them were forced to acknowledge it shortly thereafter as the confrontation between the two wizards quickly spread all across the guildhall. Tables began to get knocked over, drinks and food fell onto the wooden floor, and more and more people began to enter the brawl as a result, though they just picked fights with random people nearby.

'_I'm so confused…_' Ichigo thought as he observed the myriad of confrontations that started to occur.

"Now, now Natsu, I think you need to calm dooooooooooooooown!" Happy exclaimed, having been hit and sent flying like a Ping-Pong ball before he could even finish his sentence.

It wasn't too long before it seemed absolutely everyone in the guildhall had started to fight someone in some manner, they didn't even seem to care who they were throwing punches at. Ichigo supposed if they weren't at him it didn't matter, so he didn't care, but when he turned to look at his blonde-haired acquaintance he found himself surprised by her reaction.

"Oh wow, I'm actually standing inside the Fairy Tail guild." Lucy said in an awestruck tone, a tinge of blush on her cheeks.

"So this doesn't bother you… at all?" Ichigo asked confusedly, guessing that it should just by knowing the celestial mage a short while.

"They're completely insane, but still I get to see it in person." Lucy replied jokingly.

'_Insane is putting it mildly…_' Ichigo thought.

"So Natsu's back huh?" A black-haired teen wondered aloud as he neared the large ongoing brawl.

Said man was moderately tall, had spikey black hair and dark blue eyes. His body was toned and muscular, which was very visible due to his only wearing a pair of black underwear at the moment, and he sported a dark blue Fairy Tail guild mark on the upper right portion of his chest.

"Come out here and fight me Natsu, we need to settle things!" He exclaimed.

"Gray, clothes." A brown-haired woman stated nonchalantly from what appeared to be a large amount of beer barrels.

The woman who had appeared to have abstained from the fight had long, brown hair that reached the middle of her back, a pair of purple eyes, rather large breasts, and a slim figure. Incidentally, her clothing only serviced to emphasize her voluptuous body more so in that her upper body was clothed in nothing more than a blue bikini top that left her stomach exposed and simultaneously revealed a pitch black Fairy Tail emblem on the lower left portion of her waist.

She sported two metal bracelets that covered her right and left bicep respectively, and three simple round metal bracelets on each of her wrists. Her lower body was covered by a pair of capri pants with two bands hanging from each legs and a light, pink belt covered by heart motifs loosely tied around her waist. The appearance of the brown-haired woman was complete with a pair of high-heeled sandals that made themselves apparent on her feet.

"I don't have time for that!" Gray shouted before jumping into the fight.

"This is why I don't date the men here, they all have no class." The woman griped before she began to drink straight from a nearby barrel of what could safely be assumed to be booze.

'_Holy crap that's a lot of alcohol…_' Ichigo thought.

"You're all out here whining when it's not even noon!" A stout man stated firmly from the sidelines of the fights.

The man stood very tall, had long white hair styled upwards, and a pair of blue eyes. His body was very muscular in nature, and his face was marked by a scar that ran down his right eye.

He wore a high-collar dark blue jacket with purplish blue innards, held closed on the front by a line of buttons. A pair of loose pants the same color of his jacket adorned his waste, and a simple belt held them up. In a way the man was just imposing if first appearances were anything to go by.

"I'll show you how a real man fights." He exclaimed, only to be punched by both Natsu and the black-haired teen who wore next to nothing a moment later.

'_This just keeps getting weirder by the minute._' Lucy thought.

"Sure is noisy in here…" A smooth confident voice trailed off from behind the duo.

Both Ichigo and Lucy turned to see a man with somewhat spikey orange hair, a pair of sunglasses, and two ladies, one on each of his respective sides. Other than his clothing, the most noticeable thing that the two took note of were that he bared a great resemblance to Ichigo. Shortly after the man had said this, however, a projectile in the form of a wooden mug landed directly on his forehead, forcing the confident smile he wore to vanish, if only for a moment.

"I'm gonna go fight, but only for you two." The man stated, speaking to the two women who were previously at his sides.

"Good luck Loke!" The two said in unison before the man left.

At this point the entirety of the guildhall had likely begun to fight, however it was only with fists and a few kicks being thrown here and there. No magic was being used and everyone seemed as if they were genuinely having fun, a concept that was very, very strange to Lucy, but only very strange to Ichigo.

"What the heck is wrong with these people? There isn't one sane person in the whole place." Lucy thought aloud.

"Doesn't seem like it…" Ichigo commented.

"Hello, can I help you?" A very sweet feminine voice asked from, ironically once again, behind the two.

Ichigo and Lucy turned to see the owner of the voice, at which point their eyes were greeted by the sight of a breathtakingly beautiful young woman.

The woman had long white hair that curled slightly at the ends and was distinctive in that the hair that would have covered her forehead was tied in an upward ponytail. She had a pair of captivatingly gorgeous sapphire blue eyes, a curvy, voluptuous body with large breast, and a genuine smile etched across her lips.

She wore a sleeveless, ankle-length maroon dress with a pleated skirt complete with a large pink bow that that adorned her chest. Trimmings of a similar color lined her neck and various other parts of the dress, and a pair of high-heeled shoes were present on her feet.

Her demeanor was extremely calm and innocent, but given what had happened thus far it was still too soon to assume she was completely sane. This, at least, had been the substitute's prospective. Lucy, however, was awestruck and practically in shock for some reason.

"It's Mirajane, in the flesh!" Lucy exclaimed girlishly. From the way she appeared and her tone, Ichigo just assumed that the woman they were currently speaking to was somehow famous.

The female wizard giggled in a flattered manner a moment later, blushing ever so slightly at the obvious fan-girl greeting she received from the blonde.

"Come over to the counter and I can help if you need anything." Mirajane offered warmly.

The brawl continued to rage on all across the guildhall as the two walked behind the white-haired woman, though they momentarily had to dodge a few flying bodies and furnishings but nothing really all too difficult. Well, at least for Ichigo. It may have only been a few feet, but every step of the way seemed very lively given what surrounded them.

When they made it over to the main bar they took their seats, and Mirajane, in turn, walked behind the counter and began to clean off a series of glasses with the same expression still plastered on her features.

"They sure are lively today." Mira commented cheerfully, causing both of those that sat across from her to deadpan.

"Shouldn't we try to stop them?" Lucy asked, as if such a question shouldn't have needed to be said.

"I usually just prefer to let them have their fun. What they're all doing now is fairly normal around here." Mirajane replied.

'_It's like a guild made entirely of Kenpachi's._' Ichigo thought, shivering a moment later at even the concept of such a thing's existence.

"Are you cold?" Mirajane asked with a touch of concern in her voice.

"What?" Ichigo exclaimed in a confused manner.

"You looked like you just shivered a little…" Mirajane replied.

"Don't worry about it, I'm…" Ichigo said.

He paused for a moment to dodge an incoming vase, which instantly zoomed past his face and hit someone else off to his side. While unfortunate for that person, he personally really didn't want to be a part of whatever this was at the moment.

"…fine." Ichigo finished, getting a nod from the smiling white-haired woman.

"So are you two new here? Could it be that you wish to join our guild?" Mirajane guessed, her words instantly causing the blonde to glow in a childlike manner.

"Yes!" Lucy squealed, likely sounding nothing like what she had intended.

The celestial mage's reaction caused the apparent barmaid to giggle once more. After this, she turned her sights towards the orange-haired boy yet again, who didn't really seem to think the question had been directed at him as well.

However, she didn't get a chance to speak as very shortly thereafter none other than the very same black-haired boy called Gray came flying into them, almost hitting Lucy dead on but settling for crashing into the legs of her chair and scaring the blond half to death.

That wasn't really an issue given that Lucy herself was physically fine, but the man in question who had been sent flying into her chair wore absolutely nothing at all. This, naturally, came as a bit of a shock to the two newcomers.

"Eeeep!" Lucy exclaimed, shutting her eyes and turning away out of disgust.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Ichigo shouted in an annoyed tone as the man picked himself up.

Gray had, for a moment, been confused as he didn't really know the person that had just addressed him, but he very quickly understood what he had been referring to and all it took was a simple glance down at his body to confirm his suspicions.

"Dammit!" Gray roared before charging the dragon slayer once again.

Ichigo's brow twitched at that, mostly due to the fact that the tone the black-haired teen had used implied that he didn't know that he wasn't wearing any clothes. Just wrapping his mind around that concept gave him a headache. Thus, the substitute ignored it and went back to the conversation he had been having. Still, at this point the ongoing brawl was starting to get on his nerves.

"Anyway, I don't recall you giving me an answer to my question." Mirajane said sweetly, trying to get back on the topic of conversation prior to Gray's interruption.

"Well I'm…" Ichigo began.

Before he could give his answer yet another object or some fixture came flying across the room, only this time he hadn't been the one it nearly hit. The object flew directly into Mirajane's face, sending her flying back into the wall behind her with a comically large bruise on her head.

"Oh my god! Mirajane, are you okay?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"I'm okay…" Mira replied with a small smile on her face, though her eyes appeared to spin.

"Don't die Mirajane!" Lucy pleaded.

Ichigo, however, was not amused in the slightest. Having to dodge the vases and bodies hadn't been all that bad, but he needed to get serious for a brief moment in order to talk to Mirajane and find out where the master was. Needless to say, the only way he saw that happening was if he were to stop the fight. It also had something to do with the fact that it had started to get annoying, at least for him.

With one swift motion, the substitute grabbed his Combat Pass, ejected his soul form, and caught his body before throwing it over his shoulders a moment later. Whit that done, he turned to the others present in the guildhall, though none of them seemed to notice what he had done or what he intended to do just yet.

"Knock it off!" Ichigo yelled, releasing a large wave of spiritual energy as he did so.

The entirety of the room's occupants froze collectively and their eyes widened at the feel of the pressure they were just hit with. It was only briefly, but that didn't make it any less intense. Almost all at once they stopped fighting and just stared back at the orange-haired teen that had caused the guild to come to a standstill, and even those who had not been participating looked at him with both surprise and confusion written on their faces.

"Thank you." Ichigo said in a slightly annoyed tone before walking back to help up the barmaid.

Many members of the guild sweatdropped at this, but moreover they were all still confused. Not one of them outside of Natsu, Lucy, and Happy knew who he was or where he came from, and yet the feel of his assumed magic energy and the speed he was able to raise it was intense enough to make everyone in the guild just stop moving.

"Who is that guy?" One asked aloud.

"I don't think he's in our guild." Another muttered.

"How'd he do that?" Another wondered.

"Why is he dressed that way? He's also got a huge sword on his back." Someone stated.

"Why is it wrapped in cloth? Never seen that before." Another commented.

"Why is he carrying what looks like himself on his back?" Someone asked confusedly.

'_I almost saw Erza for a second…_' Gray thought with a slightly panicked expression.

Incidentally this was the same thought that entered Natsu's head, but his face was now marked by a massive grin that indicated his intent very clearly. It was too bad the brawl was just broken up because the thought of anyone being similar to Erza in terms of power or combat ability got him itching for a fight.

'_What was that?_' Mirajane wondered, her thoughts matching that of several other onlookers such as Cana.

'_He could've just done that before…_' Lucy thought with a deadpanned expression, though since he had eventually broken up the fight she didn't feel the need to make a comment.

The orange-haired teen let his body rest on the chair he had been sitting in, after which he made his way behind the counter and offered a hand to the white-haired woman he had only just recently met. Said woman just stared at him with an expression that made her look as if she had spaced out or was too deep in thought to be brought back by anything less than a voice addressing her directly.

"Are you alright?" Ichigo asked, his hand still extended.

The white-haired woman blushed slightly before shaking off her thoughts and collecting herself. She seemed to feel somewhat embarrassed given that she was practically staring at him in her daze, and perhaps even more so because she allowed herself to space out over something so trivial.

"Y-yeah, thank you." Mirajane replied before taking the hand and allowing herself to be helped up.

The teenage Substitute Soul Reaper nodded before he headed back across the counter, the eyes of all the mages in the guild, or most of them, fixed on him all the while. It likely had to do with his appearance at this point, on top of the fact that his unconscious body currently sat in place lifelessly on the bar chair he had recently occupied.

"So… are you also here to join the guild?" Mirajane asked, repeating her earlier question before she had been unwillingly interrupted.

"I actually met Natsu in Hargeon and he gave me the advice that I should speak to your guild's master about a bit of a situation I have. So that is why I'm here." Ichigo replied.

"That's surprising that Natsu was capable of giving you advice that didn't suck. He's a complete moron." Gray commented.

"True." Several stated in agreement.

The dragon slayer then turned towards the ice mage with a tick mark on his head and his teeth brought to bear, clearly being angered in some way by that last comment.

"What'd you say, popsicle?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"What'd you just call me?!" Gray shouted back.

Natsu immediately rushed over to the black-haired teen and punched him directly into Loke, who fell over almost instantly upon the body ramming into him. Ichigo fought the urge to slap a hand over his face given that he knew where this was going.

"Like I'd let you get away with that!" Gray exclaimed upon picking himself up.

One by one those that had previously been pacified by Ichigo's actions began to fight like the world was ending the very next day, which in turn caused said Substitute Soul Reaper to slap the palm of his hand over his face in an exasperated manner.

"Guess they're at it again." Mirajane said in an amused manner.

"You punks can be such a nuisance." Loke sneered before placing what appeared to be a magic ring on his finger.

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Gray said before preparing to fire some form of attack courtesy of a blue magic circle forming over his gripped together hands.

"I'm ready for ya." Natsu stated, calling forth fire to cover his fists in the manner it traditionally did.

"Do they always fight like this?" Lucy asked worriedly, placing the blue feline in front of her as some kind of shield.

"Yup." Happy answered cheerfully, not seeming to mind the way the blonde was using him. It was either that or he didn't understand the meaning.

'_I better stop this before they blow up the building._' Ichigo thought. However, a moment later doing so became unnecessary.

A large black monster-like creature stood up in the center of the guildhall with a very evident look of annoyance about him. Lucy looked at it with a panic-stricken expression while Ichigo himself even looked surprised, despite the fact that he half-expected something weird like this to happen in the near future.

"**Would you fools stop acting like spoiled children?!**" The creature roared.

"HE'S HUGE!" Lucy exclaimed.

Everyone around the guild immediately froze in place, no one, at least at the moment, saying a single word in the face of the large giant.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were still here, master." Mira said cheerfully.

"Master?!" Lucy uttered in a surprised voice, her words mirroring the thoughts of the resident Substitute Soul Reaper.

"**Our guest goes to the trouble of stopping the lot of you, and you go back to fighting just like that?!**" He bellowed.

Very clearly he was respected if how perfectly still everyone was happened to be anything to go by, though that didn't come as a surprise given that he was the leader of Fairy Tail, presumably. What had come as a surprise was what happened a moment later. A certain someone didn't seem to understand that when this man said stop, he meant stop.

"Hahahahahahah, talk about a bunch of babies. Looks like I won this round you gu…" Natsu began, only to be crushed under the foot of the giant a moment later.

'_Was that necessary?!_' Lucy wondered.

"That was a bit extreme…" Ichigo commented upon seeing the pink-haired dragon slayer taken out of action so easily.

"**What's this? Do we have new recruits?**" The giant questioned, glancing down at the only two people within the guildhall that weren't members, yet.

"Yes sir!" Lucy immediately replied, though her orange-haired companion chose to say nothing.

"**GRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!**" The giant roared out as energy began to flow off of his body.

Lucy held her hands up in an attempt to defend herself from whatever wrath she thought she had inspired within the giant, but in truth the large obsidian beast began to shrink. In fact, it shrank so much so that she stood at least three times this man's actual height.

The guild master revealed himself to be a short, elderly man with black eyes, a thick, white moustache, accompanying white hair, and a cheerful demeanor. He wore an orange hoodie overtop a white undershirt with a black Fairy Tail insignia at its center.

His shorts were also orange, and he wore something similar to a jester's hat with alternating orange and blue stripes. In his left hand he held a plain white scroll, but other than that and his hat nothing really stood out about him.

"Nice ta' meetcha'." He greeted cheerfully, raising a hand in the air in a friendly manner.

"He's so tiny! This little guy is really in charge here?" Lucy wondered aloud.

That, to Ichigo, didn't really make any sense. Granted this guy probably had more composure than that, but why insult someone who could pound you against the floor with just his foot, it didn't really make any sense.

"Of course he is! Allow me to introduce the Fairy Tail guild master, Makarov." Mirajane stated cheerfully.

Both Ichigo and Lucy looked at the elderly man, expecting to speak with him at this very point in time. However, the rather impish guild master jumped up in the air, landing in a less than graceful manner atop the second floor's railing. He cleared his throat a moment later, silencing all whispers that may have gone on in light of what was clearly to be an announcement.

"You've gone and done it again, ya bunch of clods. Just take a look at how much paperwork the Magic Council sent me this time. This is the biggest pile of complaints yet!" Makarov stated, lifting his right hand and showing a rather sizeable stack of paperwork.

"Who?" Ichigo wondered aloud, looking to Lucy for an explanation.

"They basically govern over the guilds since the king himself doesn't really meddle with them too much." Lucy whispered, giving the briefest explanation she possibly could.

"Have you kids lost your minds?! All your good for is getting the higher ups mad at me!" Makarov exclaimed, drawing many disappointed looks from the members of the guild.

To most, the elderly man looked rather aggravated, but that was somewhat understandable. Ichigo had recalled numerous conditions under which Hitsugaya had been furious with a certain strawberry-blonde lieutenant over the infuriating menial task that was paperwork, and none of that likely had a thing to do with damages caused by his subordinates.

"However…" Makarov began, doing something that both Ichigo and Lucy hadn't expected.

Within the palm of the man's hand the stack of paper ignited, burning away within a second later and becoming nothing more than a collection of ashes.

"Ta heck with the Magic Council." Makarov stated.

Lucy looked at the elderly guild master with amazement in her eyes. In fact she was so captivated that she didn't even pay any attention to Natsu jumping up into the air and consuming the ball of flaming paper Makarov had thrown down towards the first floor.

"Now listen up. Any power that surpasses reason still comes from reason, right? Magic isn't some kind of miraculous power. It is a talent that only works when the flow of energy inside of us and the flow of energy in the natural world are in perfect synchronization. To perform magic someone must have a strong mind and the ability to focus. It should take over your being and come pouring out of your soul! If all we do is worry about following rules than our magic will never progress. Don't let those blowhards on the council scare you, follow the path you believe in. Cuz' that's what makes the Fairy Tail guild number one!" Makarov stated, ending by pointing his right hand high into the air with his index finger extended and his thumb pointing out.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The guildhall cheered, mimicking the old man's action by performing the very same hand gesture.

'_Didn't see that one coming._' Ichigo thought with a small smirk. Truth be told he didn't think he had ever met someone who had the exact same attitude of Makarov thus far, but he was just happy the guild master seemed easy to talk to. Now all he needed was for said man to actually be capable of helping him.

After the cheering had died down the members of the guild went about their respective business, but Makarov himself went back over to the bar in order to greet the two new prospective members.

"Excellent speech master." Mira complimented sweetly.

"Thank you Mirajane, now who might you two be?" Makarov questioned.

"My name is Lucy Heartfilia, and I'd love nothing more than to join this guild!" Lucy said in a pleading manner, causing the elderly mage to chuckle.

"Don't worry about that my dear, you've got nothing to worry about. In fact, welcome to Fairy Tail!" Makarov replied, causing the celestial mage to beam with joy.

Ichigo just watched plainly as Lucy began to happily dance and swirl around the room. Of all the people he had ever met, she was definitely the most dramatic person when happy, or perhaps at all times.

"And who might you be my boy?" Makarov asked cheerfully, closing his eyes and directing a genuine smile towards the orange-haired teen.

"My name's Ichigo Kurosaki." Ichigo replied.

"A fine name, my boy, and I really must thank you for breaking up that little squabble before things got out of hand. The way you did it though took me a bit by surprise cuz' to be honest I'm not all too used to hearing such a commanding voice from a male around here." Makarov stated jokingly, though the humor went right over the substitute's head.

It seemed to draw a chuckle from Natsu, however, as he walked up to the group with Happy on his shoulder. Apparently the dragon slayer understood the attempted joke, and perhaps Lucy understood, but she was still jumping around like a fool so it was hard to tell if she had even heard the elder mage's words.

"By the way Mirajane, could you please give our new recruit her guild mark?" Makarov requested.

"Right away master." She replied, after which the barmaid and the celestial mage headed over to the other side of the counter.

"Yeah… anyway, I'm not actually here to join your guild. I have a bit of a problem and Natsu said that you might be able to help me out." Ichigo stated, causing the elderly mage to raise a curious brow.

"Did he now? What kind of problem might you have my boy?" Makarov questioned in a friendly manner.

"He's not from this dimension!" Natsu exclaimed in an excited manner, evidently eager to see what his guild master's reaction would be.

The dragon slayer's comment, though intended only to inform the master, seemed to collectively address the entire guild if their reactions were anything to go buy. Apparently as a group, each member save for a select few turned and looked at the pink-haired mage as if he were completely crazy, or perhaps incredibly stupid, but neither implication was very flattering.

"What kind of a terrible joke is that, flame brain?" Gray asked in an annoyed fashion.

"It wasn't a joke! He really is from another dimension, he said so himself after we met in Hargeon! He randomly appeared from the sky and everything!" Natsu replied.

"Yeah right, stop being an idiot Natsu." Gray countered.

"Real men don't lie." The stout man who had been previously and simultaneously punched by both Gray and Natsu stated.

"I'm not lyin'! Tell them Ichigo!" Natsu shouted defensively, looking to the orange-haired teen to back him up and also causing the entirety of the guild to do the same.

The resident substitute, however, was currently glaring at the pink-haired dragon slayer. Very clearly he was annoyed or bothered, but Natsu, for the moment, didn't seem to understand why.

"While I wanted to speak to you about this in private…" Ichigo began, causing the fire mage to chuckle nervously given that he now realized his error in judgment.

"Sorry…" Natsu said sheepishly before releasing a nervous chuckle.

"…what Natsu said was true. I'm not really from here, period. The gist of what happened was that I happened to be traveling in a place called the Dangai, a bridge between two worlds called the world of the living and the Soul Society. I got sucked into something called the restrictive current and the next thing I knew I was in some place I now know to be called Hargeon, right in the middle of Natsu's fight." Ichigo stated.

"You were traveling in-between worlds?" Makarov questioned in a tone of clear disbelief.

"Yes, that's correct. I was leaving a place called the Soul Society, which I guess you can think of as the afterlife from where I'm from. The Dangai exists so that people called Soul Reapers can travel between the world of the living and the Soul Society to perform the duties they are required to perform. In essence they make sure souls cross over to the other side safely, but that is a very simplified version." Ichigo replied.

"So according to what you're saying, you are a Soul Reaper?" Makarov asked in an unsure voice, though it was hard to tell if he was genuinely curious or if he was just humoring the boy.

"I am not technically a Soul Reaper because I am also a living human, so that makes me a Substitute Soul Reaper. That is why I live in the world of the living and possess the powers of a Soul Reaper. That's also why I look like this and have a body with me as we speak. Normal humans actually can't see me in this form where I am from, but apparently here because magic energy is pretty much in everyone that isn't an issue." Ichigo explained.

The substitute and current human turned to get a look at the respective reactions of the guild's members and they were exactly what he had thought they'd be. They were undoubtedly looking at him like he had lost his mind, but then again that was the only real possibility at the moment. He didn't even bother explaining what anything he had just said really meant, such as what the actual function of the Soul Society was or what a restrictive current was, but in truth he really, really didn't want to do that again if he could help it. His current goal was, after all, just to find out if the guild master had any idea as to what he was talking about or what could do to return home.

The guild master himself, however, was also giving off the impression that he found what was said extremely hard to believe. His previously laid back expression was replaced with widened eyes and dropped jaw, definitely not a good indicator that he knew what could be done since it seemed as if he didn't even think such a thing was possible.

'_Well that happens to be just my luck, apparently…_' Ichigo thought with a sigh.

'_What he said is definitely impossible from my perspective… but he said it with a straight face, I can tell that he isn't lying. So is he just crazy? He could also just be telling the truth._' Makarov thought, not entirely sure what he should say at the moment. On top of that if what he was just told happened to be a lie, he wasn't sure whether to be impressed at how whimsical and thorough it was, or outright disturbed.

"See, I told you he wasn't lying!" Natsu exclaimed happily.

"The guy probably just escaped from an insane asylum. You're sure that's not where you two met?" The brown-haired woman who had been heavily drinking asked in a lazy voice.

"Cana's right Natsu, this guy's off his rocker, and you're an idiot for being so damn gullible." Gray stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh yeah?! Ichigo, show them the badge thingy!" Natsu stated, wanting nothing more than to prove the ice mage wrong.

The orange-haired savior of the Soul Society truly had nothing to lose, and thus, he entered the body he had left on the primary bar's chair, something that most seemed to conveniently overlook given what had just occurred.

'_What the hell is he doing?_' Many wondered upon seeing his, presumably, unconscious body still sitting within the chair.

Within a moment of the black-clad teen entering the body it began to move, after which he turned to face the mass of guild members once again, though this time to show the opposite effect.

"A hundred Jewels says that nothing happens." Someone stated.

Natsu already stood behind him, prepared to catch the body as he had previously. With that in mind the substitute grabbed the Combat Pass and pulled the practical ejection button on his soul, sending the body flying into the dragon slayer's arms and successfully surprising a large amount of the guild, the master included.

'_That was really weird, but it doesn't mean he's from another world or anything… I mean, it could just be a parlor trick or an illusion._' Cana thought skeptically.

"Pressing that badge allows me to eject my soul from its body and enter this form. This is why I am a Substitute Soul Reaper and also why you all likely see two of me." Ichigo explained.

"How does that prove anything?!" Someone shouted.

"All of you knock it off!" Makarov said commandingly, silencing, and confusing, many present.

"Master, you not saying you actually believe this guy?" Cana asked out of disbelief.

"While you all may not be able to see it, this isn't an illusion of any kind. Very clearly they are two separate bodies that house the same host, and that is something that no magic on this earth has yet created. This means that he is either telling the truth in some manner or he is some kind of magical visionary who is off his rocker." Makarov explained, causing Ichigo to deadpan given that the man had implied it was still possible he was crazy beyond belief.

"There anything else you want to see? I'm positive I can prove I'm telling the truth." Ichigo said firmly.

"Supposing I _did_ believe you were telling the truth…" Makarov began, causing the substitute to smirk.

"Master, you ca…" Someone began.

"Silence!" Makarov barked, getting the instant effect of granting his request.

"Now, where was I? Ah, yes, if I did believe you, I wouldn't really know how to help. I've never heard of this place called the 'Soul Society', or even this precipice world for that matter. I also couldn't really tell you if there is anyone who _could_ help you. The nearest form of magic I can think off is celestial magic, but you're obviously not from the world of the celestial spirits so I don't believe a user of that magic could help." Makarov said, a slight amount of sympathy evident in his voice.

Truth be told it actually pained him to have to say these words, mostly because they were likely the last thing the boy wanted to hear, especially if he had been telling the truth. From his perspective he was just told by someone who likely had extensive knowledge of this world and of magic that he couldn't help him, and that was a very grim reality. However, to his surprise, the orange-haired teen appeared rather calm, as he merely nodded his head in understanding.

"I see… that's alright, I didn't really expect that you'd know exactly how to help me after seeing your reaction to what I had said." Ichigo replied evenly.

Though this was a setback to him in that someone he had hoped would help him couldn't, it didn't exactly dishearten him. There was still his theory that the Combat Pass was still functional. That, coupled with the fact that his disappearance would be noticed, told him that the Thirteen Court Guard Squads at the least and Urahara at the most were likely going to figure out what happened and make an attempt at searching for him.

"Is it possible that your friends from the other side find you and help you from there end?" Makarov asked, wanting to at least brighten the boy's mood after his unfortunate answer.

"Yes, they probably can, it's just a matter of waiting for right now. It complicates things… but I'll get through." Ichigo replied, giving a small smirk to the elderly mage.

"That's good then…" Makarov trailed off with a bright smile once again coming onto his features.

'_It's like I thought, I can't really do anything from my end… but this world is somehow connected to mine, which means that in the end the tracking device on my Combat Pass likely still works. Moreover they know where I was last seen and would be able to tell if I exited the Dangai, which means they'd know exactly where to look. It does suck that I have to stay here though… dammit._' Ichigo thought out of annoyance.

"Ichigo… Ichigo my boy." Makarov called, breaking the teen out of his thoughts.

"Hmmm? Sorry, what?" Ichigo asked with a slightly confused expression.

"I want you to know that if you think you're stuck here feel free to join our guild. I can assure you that you'll find none better than Fairy Tail, and I'm sure you'll fit right in given a small period of time. We're always looking for new members to our little family." Makarov said in a friendly manner, confident that the boy would at least consider the offer.

"Aye!" Happy chirped as if agreeing with the master's words.

"That sounds like a good idea to me. How 'bout it, Ichigo?" Natsu asked, placing a hand on the substitute's shoulder.

"I… can I have a bit to think about it?" Ichigo requested, completely unsure of whether or not to join the guild at the moment.

"Absolutely my boy." Makarov replied cheerfully.

"What?! But you've gotta join Fairy Tail, it's the most awesome guild ever!" Natsu whined.

"Aye!" Happy commented as the technical Soul Reaper made to enter his body once again.

Upon reentering his human body, Ichigo turned to look at the dragon slayer before releasing a slight chuckle at what Natsu and his feline companion had just said. Regardless of their inputs, it wasn't exactly an easy decision to make.

"Sorry, I can't go and make a decision like this on the spot, now can I?" Ichigo countered.

"I guess not… you still suck though." Natsu mumbled.

"I do not! I just have a lot to consider with this!" Ichigo shouted defensively.

"Anyway, I'm going to go look for a job so I'll be over by the request board." Natsu stated before walking off.

Ichigo took a seat at the main bar a moment later, after which he closed his eyes, if only for a second, and released a tired sigh. However, when his eyes opened once more, where previously he had only seen the woman he knew to be Mirajane, he saw a slew of guild members who just gave off the aura that they wanted to pry him for information.

"Umm… what?" Ichigo asked, foolishly opening the floor to the likely innumerable questions those around him had.

"So you're really from another dimension?" One of the members asked skeptically.

"Yes, but why are you even remotely believing me now?" Ichigo countered.

"If the master believes you than we will trust his judgment." Another answered.

'_Fair enough…_' Ichigo thought, already having gotten the sense that Fairy Tail's guild master was more than capable of garnering that level of respect.

There was an awkward silence as the group just stared at the orange-haired teen, obviously wanting to ask questions but clearly being unsure if they were able to do so.

"If you have questions, feel free to…" Ichigo began, only to be cut off by the very think he was so close to permitting.

"Where are you from?" Someone asked.

"A place called Karakura Town, it's on an island nation called Japan." Ichigo answered.

The first inquiry, however, was the very last one to be asked in a one-at-a-time manner. Immediately thereafter, they all berated him before he could even answer a single one of their questions.

"How old are you?"

"Why is your sword so big?"

"Where does your sword go?"

"How tall are you?"

"Is that your real hair color?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"A boyfriend?"

"Grrrr…" Ichigo growled out in an annoyed manner, obviously not at all happy with this turn of events.

"Hahaha, alright you guys, maybe give him some space? He's probably been through a lot today." Mirajane requested through a giggle.

The nearby guild members immediately obeyed the commands of the barmaid, but Ichigo himself didn't really seem to pick up on the speed with which they disbanded, more just on the fact that they did. He turned back to the white-haired woman a moment later, inwardly sighing out of relief that at least someone didn't immediately pound him with questions.

"Thanks for that." Ichigo said, causing the young woman to smile brightly as she seemed to always do.

"You're welcome… I didn't really get a chance to introduce myself. I'm Mirajane Strauss, but everyone usually calls me Mira." Mirajane stated.

"Nice to finally meet you… and you've probably already heard my name a few times already." Ichigo said, ending with a slight chuckle.

"Yup! I know your name all right. But I couldn't help but overhear what the master just said to you. For what it's worth, this guild is by far the best in all of Fiore, so if you're going to join one I would strongly recommend Fairy Tail." Mira said with a bright smile.

'_Strange how everyone in this guild seems to think the same thing…_' Ichigo thought with an inward chuckle. It wasn't that he didn't think they were telling the truth, it was more of just the fact that they were a little bit biased. Even so, the guild certainly seemed like a nice place, and one he didn't particularly mind save for the constant brawls. He had enough of that whenever he ran into Kenpachi Zaraki or visited the Eleventh Division's barracks.

"I'm definitely thinking about it, but to be honest I don't know what I'm going to do at the moment." Ichigo replied kindly.

"Still, I felt I should at least say something. Gotta do my part for the guild ya know." Mira said, giving a wink to the orange-haired teen who, in turn, chuckled.

_**With Lucy…**_

The blonde was fresh off receiving the pink guild mark that now took its place atop her left hand, and she simply couldn't be happier. She felt so free and secure at the same time, truly everything one would feel after joining such an amazing and lively guild. At the same time, she wanted nothing more than to show it off, and so, she began to walk towards the request board, coming up behind a bored looking Natsu.

"Hey Natsu, Mirajane just put the official guild sign on my hand!" Lucy said in an exited manner.

"Oh yeah? That's cool, welcome to the guild Loony." Natsu replied in a bored fashion.

"The name's Lucy!" The blonde shouted angrily. Her name really wasn't that hard to remember, and yet it was always either the pink-haired dragon slayer or his annoying cat.

She had been so aggravated, in fact, that she just stormed off towards the main bar once more, her face giving off her annoyance. Still, Natsu didn't seem to notice or care in the slightest as he just kept scanning the request board for a job he thought suited him.

Just as his eyes landed on a job he felt would be perfect, the sound of a child's voice caught his attention. Well, it hadn't really been the voice itself, more along the lines of the words that were said.

"How come my dad hasn't come back yet?" A child asked, sounding mildly worried.

Said child was a young boy with dark purple hair, blue eyes, and standard clothing. The look on his face seemed distraught, and the man he was addressing was none other than the master himself.

"You're starting to work my nerves Romeo. You're a wizard's son, have faith in your father and wait patiently for him." Makarov stated before continuing to finish off the drink in his hand.

_**With Ichigo…**_

Thus far the orange-haired substitute had caught on to the child's urgent voice. It was likely that the kid's worries were a little needless, but even so the conversation got his attention.

"But sir he told me he'd be back in three days… and he's been gone for over a week now!" Romeo shouted.

"If I remember correctly he took the job on Mount Hakobe." Makarov thought aloud.

"That's right, it's not far from here so why won't anyone go look for him?!" Romeo exclaimed.

"Listen kid, you're father's a wizard and like every wizard in this guild he can take care of himself!" Makarov replied.

"B-but…" Romeo began pleadingly.

"Now go home, have some milk and cookies, and wait!" Makarov ordered.

Ichigo frowned slightly upon hearing those words, but it was just at the words themselves and not the man who spoke them. He could tell very easily that Makarov was just trying to settle the boy's nerves as best as he could, and if that meant appearing callous then so be it. Still, it couldn't have been easy for the dark purple-haired kid to hear that coming from a person he most likely looked up to.

"Jerk!" Romeo shouted, punching the white-haired wizard directly in the center of his forehead.

The guild master let out a small grunt of pain, likely just to save the boy's feelings though that clearly wasn't noticed by the child himself. In fact it took him less than a second to storm out of the guild, tears lightly falling from his cheeks.

"I hate you! I hate you all!" Romeo shouted, charging towards the exit.

'_Poor kid…_' Ichigo thought, finding a small sense of sympathy in himself despite his current situation.

"That's gotta be tough…" Lucy commented.

"I know it seems like the master doesn't care, but he really is worried." Mira stated.

The resident dragon slayer then punched a hole through the request board, immediately after which he began to storm off with his expression fixed in a clearly displeased scowl and his Exceed companion at his back. His intent was very clear to the other occupants of the building, and nothing anyone said or did was likely to stop him at this point.

From the main bar, Makarov and Mirajane looked on at the display with something akin to sorrow or perhaps sympathy in their eyes. Ichigo, however, could tell very clearly that they weren't going to do anything despite this being the case.

"That kid needs to learn when to grow up." Someone commented, their words being the last straw for a certain orange-haired teen.

When one of your comrade's might be in danger, that was one thing, but to say something like that after the said comrade's kid practically came begging for help was definitely something he couldn't stand for. He wasn't even a member of the guild and he had the urge to lend a hand.

"Hey Natsu!" Ichigo shouted, loud enough for the pink-haired mage to hear his voice.

"What?" Natsu asked, turning back with a confused expression as he was just about to exit the guildhall.

"Wait up for me." Ichigo said with a small smirk.

Many of the Fairy Tail guild's members were surprised by the newcomer's words, but Natsu grinned widely at the statement given that he knew at least one person in the guildhall would care enough to tag along.

'_I kinda figured it'd be him._' Natsu thought, his grin still present in full force.

The orange-haired teen grabbed the wooden skull badge that kept itself attacked to his side and ejected himself from his human body, catching it just in time to avoid a collision with the ground.

"Hey Mirajane, would you mind watching this for me? I can't really take it with me, so…" Ichigo began, only to be cut off.

"It won't be a problem!" Mirajane assured, eliciting a nod from the substitute.

Without another word or even giving a curious glance around the guildhall to see what everyone's reactions were, Ichigo began to walk towards Natsu, catching up with him very quickly before the duo and colorful flying cat were off.

"Wait for me you guys!" Lucy shouted, unable to resist the urge to help the child as well.

Shortly thereafter the resident dragon slayer as well as their newest member and a potentially insane man exited the building, the guildhall went silent. For some time everyone just stared at the entrance, somewhat surprised or confused by what had just happened.

For Natsu to do something like that wasn't very out of character, but they didn't expect two people that didn't even know the person they were looking for to go out of their way and look for one of their own members all the way up in the mountains. What was even more remarkable was that the man who claimed to be from another world happened to do this, despite the fact that he was the only one who was technically not a member of Fairy Tail and as a result had no obligation to do anything.

"So… anyone wanna mess with his body?" Cana asked to no one in particular, bringing all eyes to the unconscious 'human' body of the proclaimed Substitute Soul Reaper.

The brown-haired woman began to head towards the body with a glint in her eyes and a red marker in her hand, but immediately before she had a chance to do anything a very ominous voice gave her pause.

"Cana…" Mirajane called sweetly, bringing the woman's attention to her.

"What do you wa…" Cana began, only to stop upon seeing the sinister aura that surrounded the bubbly white-haired woman.

Her demeanor and expression were kind and caring as they always were, the warm smile on her lips and her innocently closed eyes giving off the impression that she could do no wrong. However, the feel of a demon was in the air around her body.

"Could you please not do anything like that? He did ask me to watch over it, and you know I don't like letting people down…" Mira stated, causing the brown-haired drinking expert to sweat bullets before carefully backing away.

With that done the seemingly carefree barmaid turned to the remainder of the guild, opening her eyes but still maintaining the very same sweet smile she had previously dawned.

"Anyone else?" Mira asked to no one in particular.

"NOPE!" The guild answered collectively.

"Good!" Mira chirped happily.

**A/N Okay, so the next chapter will be posted on Friday. Not really much else to say outside of the usual stuff…**

_**Explanations**_:

**Ichigo's Reaction to His Situation**: The logic he is going by is that since the Dangai threw him into this world, it has to be somehow connected to his own. Also, the Combat Pass's tracking abilities, in his mind, should still work. This is because of the fact that it works in different dimensions like the world of the living and Hueco Mundo, so I don't see why it shouldn't work in the Fairy Tail universe if I am operating under the assumption that it is connected to his world and the Soul Society in some way. Also, he knows the Thirteen Court Guard Squads know where he was, they would be able to tell if he safely got back to the world of the living, and on top of that they are more than capable of searching for him properly. This is what he believes, however, and in the future the situation, as he sees it, might change.

**Fairy Tail's Reaction**: Basically I went with the idea that they would trust Makarov's judgment, which is true for most of them but not all of them. Many do suspect that he isn't telling the truth, and, while he obviously is, I will just say that now.

**Why Would Ichigo Not Join Right Away**: I can't really justify that since, as was said, he has a lot to consider. By this I mean where he wants to belong for the time being. We all know where he will end up, but even so I just have to make it a non-instantaneous decision.

**Repeat, Why Have Ichigo's Body**: A few people asked about this so I will just say something on this briefly. I did this for the reasons I previously stated as well as for conveniences sake, and when I say that I don't mean his convenience I mean for my own, because there are reasons I have it like this and hopefully said reasons will become a bit clearer as the story moves on. I really can't say anything other than have faith that I can write this properly xD. On top of this, there is a fix for him having to constantly eject that will come in the somewhat distant future, and no it has nothing to do with Quincy Powers, just felt I needed to add that last part to avoid confusion.

**Previous Chapter, Regarding the Force of Ichigo's Sword**: Okay, so there were a few people who asked about this so instead of responding directly to those questions in the reviews I will just do so here. The force that results from Ichigo's sword is, yes, very powerful. However, he can control how much force he uses… which I thought to be somewhat obvious. Yes, he could have basically killed Bora with a full force swing, but he wasn't trying to kill Bora, so keep that in mind, and also keep in mind the fact that Ichigo isn't the type of person to try killing people unless he absolutely has to. Hope this clears things up!

**Regarding Ichigo's Powers, Meaning Quincy/how that will work with his body**: Okay, so no Ichigo will not be receiving his Quincy powers in _this_ story or the knowledge thereof. That's not to say I don't have something planned, and that's also not to say that I will make people in the Fairy Tail universe stronger than they should be just for the sake of fighting Ichigo. Now, in theory, he _should_ be able to use Quincy powers to some degree, but he still doesn't know about his mother nor will he learn about his Quincy heritage. At least not directly though there will be some ambiguity on that front and you'll see what I mean in the future.

_**Reviews**_:

**Tahaku**: Thank you for your compliments, and a special thanks to pointing out my errors! I fixed them and really appreciate the fact that you took the time to cite them because I don't catch everything when I proofread xD.

**Guest 1(Hi)**: The Epilogue of TFTH will be in the form of Ichigo's monologue that will occur in the first chapter of the sequel in which he explains what happened. I have given it quite a bit of thought, and that's why I ended the story the way I did, but I will not be adding it on to TFTH. Hope this clears things up!

**EyeHeartOC's**: Again, maybe ;P

**QuasWexQuas**: Can't answer that… maybe she will be, maybe she won't be… ;P

**The10thDoctor1964**: Of course (Knock on Wood).

**hollowichigo12**: He might, but I don't intend to have him talk too much about what life was like in his world, at least not all at once. Will he get his hollow back? Yes, he will, but I won't say when or how. Also, no, I don't intend to show anything from his home dimension as in what's going on there, and by the end of the story you will see why. I thought about it but decided against it. Will I include other Bleach characters, technically yes but I guess the answer should be no… I realize that might be confusing, but by the end that will make sense. The question of Cana… maybe. I usually hide my intended pairings until I feel it is far too obvious.

**megaslayer321a**: No, Zangetsu will not turn into a dual blade weapon in this story. In this series is a maybe, I haven't really decided. Will he find out about his hollow being the real Zangetsu, not exactly… there are hints that he needs to 'explore his powers more' but nothing definitive as the story ends and stuff happens that sets up the sequel for it.

**Krazyfanfiction1**: Yes, the real Zangetsu aka hollow Ichigo is alive and kicking. No, it's not just you, black Getsuga does look a bit like black flames, at least to me.

**yoruichifan**: No, sadly he won't be able to summon Zangetsu in his human form, though that was a good question. Also I don't intend for him to learn kido because there really isn't a teacher for him to go to… as for the pairings, I can't say… ;P. I will add though that _all three of those have potential_… take that to mean what you want it to.


	4. To Rescue a Father

**A/N Not much to say, except of course…**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 4 **

"Hey Natsu!" Ichigo shouted, loud enough for the pink-haired mage to hear his voice.

"What?" Natsu asked, turning back with a confused expression as he was just about to exit the guildhall.

"Wait up for me." Ichigo said with a small smirk.

Many of the Fairy Tail guild's members were surprised by the newcomer's words, but Natsu grinned widely at the statement given that he knew at least one person in the guildhall would care enough to tag along.

'_I kinda figured it'd be him._' Natsu thought, his grin still present in full force.

The orange-haired teen grabbed the wooden skull badge that kept itself attacked to his side and ejected himself from his human body, catching it just in time to avoid a collision with the ground.

"Hey Mirajane, would you mind watching this for me? I can't really take it with me, so…" Ichigo began, only to be cut off.

"It won't be a problem!" Mirajane assured, eliciting a nod from the substitute.

Without another word or even giving a curious glance around the guildhall to see what everyone's reactions were, Ichigo began to walk towards Natsu, catching up with him very quickly before the duo and colorful flying cat were off.

"Wait for me you guys!" Lucy shouted, unable to resist the urge to help the child as well.

_**Road to Mount Hakobe: Aboard a Wagon, Some Time Later…**_

Most present within the wooden form of transportation sat calmly and quietly as the horse continued to pull the cart closer and closer to their destination. However, one person in particular seemed to be having a very difficult time.

'_I hate my life…_' Natsu thought as he tried his best just to keep the food in his stomach from manifesting outwardly as vomit.

Ichigo and Lucy sweatdropped upon seeing the pink-haired mage's only worsening condition, but then again there really wasn't anything they could do if he had such horrible motion sickness. Well, they could just stay there and feel pity, however that wasn't particularly helpful.

"You really do have a bad case of motion sickness…" Lucy observed in a sympathetic manner.

"Aye!" Happy stated in agreement.

"Are we there ye…" Natsu began, only to be cut off as his stomach pain forced his mouth shut in an instant lest he risk getting suck all over the floor of the cart.

"There anything we can do to help?" Ichigo offered with a small frown, not particularly caring to see the dragon slayer in such a state.

"Natsu has always had horrible motion sickness and there really isn't anything anyone can do to help him out. He's used to it by now." Happy assured.

"Maybe, but it still sucks…" Natsu groaned.

Ichigo turned to look outside the small windows the cart had to offer, an expression of deep thought present on his face. He recalled what Mirajane had told them back at the bar, and about how he believed Natsu saw a lot of himself in the son of the man they were currently trying to find.

Truth be told, that was actually half the reason he himself wanted to go. Ichigo had felt the pain of losing his mother, and granted the circumstances were far from normal, but nevertheless he still felt the desire to make sure nothing like that happened to anyone else if he could help it.

Somehow he felt Natsu was the same way, and that was all the more reason to help him out. Even if he didn't join Fairy Tail in the end, he'd still go out of his way to help others, that's just who he was and nothing would ever change that.

The cart abruptly stopped several moments later, breaking the orange-haired teen out of his thoughts and alerting him that either something had happened or they were at their destination.

"I'm sorry, but this is as far as I can take you." The driver called, alerting everyone that the latter of the two possibilities was the actual situation.

"All right, we've stopped moving!" Natsu exclaimed, getting up from the lengthy wooden seat and instantly jumping up in a revitalized manner.

'_He recovered that quickly?_' Ichigo wondered confusedly.

"Guess he's pretty happy about not having to be in this thing anymore." Lucy mused, smiling warmly at the dragon slayers childish reaction.

"Anyway, why did we stop here? I didn't feel us going up any inclines, so are we at the base of the mountain or what?" Ichigo questioned, looking to the overjoyed pink-haired mage for an answer.

The dragon slayer stopped his antics a moment later, looking at the substitute and smirking slightly. He released a slight chuckle of amusement, after which he chose to answer the given question.

"Nah, this guy couldn't get us that close to the mountain, not with how it usually is at least." Natsu replied.

His answer greatly confused both Lucy and Ichigo, who just looked at one another with an expression giving off said feeling. The substitute expected her to know, but very clearly she did not.

"Wait… why is that exactly?" Ichigo asked.

_**Pathway to Mount Hakobe: With Natsu, Happy, Lucy, and Ichigo**_

"It's freezing!" Lucy shouted, her hands shaking as they held tightly onto her shoulders.

The group began to make its way up towards the summit quite some time ago, having made it to the base rather quickly. However, the weather was exceedingly brutal. Snow fell nonstop, chilling winds that cut to the bone howled without end, and the clouds made it seem as if the mountains peak was an eternity away.

Lucy, incidentally, was the only one who seemed to have any problems with the current climate, though that was understandable given what she chose to wear. Natsu, Ichigo, and Happy, on the other hand, seemed to be perfectly fine.

"This place is a frozen wasteland!" Lucy exclaimed, her teeth clicking together after she spoke.

"Why did you even come then?" Natsu asked in a bored tone as the group continued to march forward.

"I came to help you, of course." Lucy replied through gritted teeth, however this was more of an effort to keep them from chattering as opposed to being rage-induced.

"Then deal with the cold. I did warn you when we were leaving the cart…" Natsu stated matter-of-factly.

"I didn't think it'd be this bad! It's summer, so there shouldn't be a blizzard like this anywhere!" Lucy exclaimed.

"We are on a mountain, and we're also pretty high up. It's only natural it'd be freezing… the snow is weird though since I didn't see any signs of rain down at the base." Ichigo thought aloud.

"Plus it's your fault for wearing light clothing." Natsu stated.

"I kind of agree with Natsu on that one. Wearing a skirt like that on a mountain was a bad call." Ichigo added.

"How on earth are you two going through this as if it's nothing?!" Lucy exclaimed, seeming as if she had just picked up that this was the case.

"I'm the Fire Dragon Slayer. I don't get cold." Natsu replied as if the answer was obvious.

"I have beautiful fur that keeps me warm!" Happy chirped.

"Oh yeah, well what about you, Ichigo? How on earth are you able to walk off this cold so easily?" Lucy asked, shivering all the while.

The blonde-haired celestial mage knew full well that Ichigo didn't, as he would say, have magic, which meant that there shouldn't be any way he was immune to this, and yet he seemed to walk even more easily than Natsu. Clearly there had to be some sort of trick to it, and she desperately wanted to know it.

"The fact that I have spiritual energy surrounding my body helps me in that it makes weather a nonissue. It's pretty useful now that I think about it, but to be honest this is the first time I've really thought about it." Ichigo replied, bringing a hand up to his chin as if to say he was truly thinking on it.

"That's just not fair!" Lucy exclaimed.

"You sure talk a lot." Natsu commented.

"Quiet you, now give me that blanket!" Lucy exclaimed, making to grab the large blanket that was currently strapped to the back of the resident dragon slayer.

"She just keeps talkin', doesn't she?" Natsu wondered aloud.

"Aye." Happy said, nodding his head in agreement.

"You say that a lot…" Ichigo trailed off, giving a sideways glance at the blue-furred cat.

"It's Happy, that's just how he is." Natsu explained, chuckling slightly as he finished.

"Aye sir!" Happy exclaimed.

"How much longer until we find the guy we're looking for?" Lucy asked, shivering as she spoke.

This, in truth, was the first time the blonde had been on a 'man-hunt' without the purposes of scoping out someone to date. If this was how they usually went, perhaps she was better off sticking to warm weather and non-deadly environments.

"Isn't there anything you can do at all against the weather? I mean, you can use magic, right?" Ichigo inquired, prompting the blonde to perk up.

"That's right! I've got an idea…" Lucy trailed off, instantly reaching for one of her characteristic Spirit Keys.

The substitute looked back in order to gain some kind of understanding as to how her magic worked. All things considered the prospect of calling on another being from a different world to help you out was pretty interesting, and he hadn't seen anything like it before. He saw her take out a key, and shortly thereafter all she needed to do was speak but a few words.

"Open Gate of the Clock Constellation, Horologium!" Lucy exclaimed.

A magic seal appeared before her a second later, shortly after which a tall brown grandfather clock appeared. He, however, was no ordinary clock. He had an actual face complete with eyes, mouth, nose, and a thin moustache, as well as long black arms. His actual clock was one of roman numerals, and the casing protecting where the pendulum should be was made of glass.

"So this is how a Celestial Mage summons spirits?" Ichigo mused.

"Whoa, a clock." Natsu said, smiling out of amazement.

"That is so cool!" Happy stated.

However, it appeared that they had each overlooked the biggest difference of all. Lucy, who had been previously standing outside before summoning the clock spirit, was now actually within the clock itself. She had a blanket over her shoulders, and she appeared to be trapped within the glass.

'_What the hell?_' Ichigo wondered, his thoughts matching those of his companions.

The blonde-haired mage began to speak from within the clock, as evident by the movement of her mouth. Yet no sound came forth, drastically confusing those who were outside of the large grandfather clock.

"We can't hear you." Natsu stated in a slightly annoyed fashion.

"She says I'm staying in here and I'm not coming out." Horologium replied.

"So the clock talks for her?" Ichigo asked with a deadpanned expression.

"Such a lazy girl…" Happy trailed off, crossing his arms and shaking his head in a disappointed fashion.

"Shut it you stupid cat, she says quite angrily. Besides, how am I supposed to be able to talk to you when I am inside a clock, she counters pointedly." Horologium said.

"Really, that's where this stops making sense?" Ichigo asked with a neutral expression.

"Where did you say you were from again, she asks sarcastically." Horologium replied.

"Fair point… but seriously though, how does this work?" Ichigo asked in a curious tone.

"I can summon this particular spirit and request that I be transported within him. He is quite sturdy and this allows me to be immune to the effects of weather, she explains evenly." Horologium replied.

"But how do you expect to help out from inside that thing?" Natsu asked in a confused voice.

"I don't care, I'm not coming out, she states quite firmly." Horologium replied.

"Then why did you even bother coming in the first place?" Natsu questioned, now being more confused than prior.

It really didn't make any sense, but to be honest maybe the celestial mage was really, really picky about weather. Even so, she'd eventually have to get over that if it was a weakness.

"What kind of job would force Macao to come to a crazy place like this, she inquires." Horologium stated.

"Ya should've asked that before you came with us." Natsu countered.

"I didn't, and I still don't really care." Ichigo stated.

"Yeah, but you're not the one complaining so much." Natsu replied.

"I heard that, she exclaims, clearly annoyed." Horologium commented.

The dragon slayer just rolled his eyes at the words of the clock spirit, after which he turned his vision back from Ichigo to the woman within said clock, prepared to give an explanation.

"Anyway, he went to slay a Vulcan. It's basically a big monster." Natsu exclaimed, very much so to the point.

Lucy seemed to pale at this, clearly not being prepared to fight off something like that, or at the very least not wanting to. She looked to see what Ichigo's reaction was, and when he didn't seem phased in the slightest her worry was replaced with confusion. It was one thing for Natsu to know this and still go, but for Ichigo to not care as well either implied they were either incredibly stupid or incredibly brave. It was very difficult to tell in this case.

'_Then maybe they don't need my help for this one… I mean, they seem like they've got it under control._' Lucy thought in an attempt to justify doing what it was that she very much so wanted to do.

Ichigo and Natsu began to walk off, expecting the clock to either follow them or stay in place until its occupant was in a condition to deal with the cold. Abruptly, however, the clock spoke up in order to communicate something once again.

"I want to go back to the guild, she proclaims." Horologium stated.

"Go ahead and be my guest, I say back." Natsu grumbled.

"Aye." Happy sneered as they continued to walk off.

The clock spirit began to walk off in the opposite direction, evidently following the instructions of its master yet again. In truth Lucy felt rather guilty, but at the moment she viewed herself as just too young and beautiful to die a horrible death in such a frozen wasteland.

_**Magnolia: Inside the Fairy Tail Guildhall**_

"Hmm…" Makarov hummed in thought atop the wooden bar, a mug of alcohol in his hand but still filled to the brim indicating he had yet to take his fill.

"Something troubling you master?" Mira questioned, knowing full well that whatever the elderly mage had on his mind was likely of the upmost importance.

Makarov didn't really make any indication of acknowledging the call of the esteemed barmaid, which in turn only caused more worry for Mirajane.

"Master?" Mira repeated, though this time her words seemingly broke through.

"Huh? Oh, sorry about that. I was just thinking on something that's been bothering me is all." Makarov replied.

He then took the first sip out of his rather large mug, taking the booze in hardily before quickly finishing and releasing a refreshed sigh. At this, Mirajane smiled given that if it was absolutely of deadly importance the mater wouldn't have reverted to his usual self so quickly. However, that also gave the former demon of Fairy Tail a bit of insight as to what the problem was.

"Is this about Macao, Master Makarov?" Mira asked with a raised brow.

"Actually yes… the thing is he should've been back by now and I worry that something's happened. It might end up being a good thing that Natsu decided to go after all." Makarov explained.

"What did he go to Mount Hakobe for anyway?" Cana asked from across the room.

"He was sent to slay a Vulcan, which is why his lack of returning has me worried." Makarov stated, causing several who heard him to panic slightly.

"Master, Vulcan's can…" Someone began.

"I know that you moron! That's why I think it's a good think Natsu did what he did. Hell, he might even end up needing those that went with him if the beasts ended up traveling in a pack." Makarov said.

"He'll be fine, master. After all, he did go with Mr. I'm from another world, didn't he? Maybe he'll take him up to that Soul Society place and we won't have to deal with Natsu anymore." Cana stated rather sarcastically.

The well-known drinker went back to her favorite pastime while her words settled in. Many in the guild adopted expressions of worry, mainly those who were rather skeptical of the orange-haired teen's story. Seeing this, Makarov opted to put a stop to such foolishness in what he hoped to be once and for all.

"Cana, granted I can see why you'd think his story isn't believable, but regardless I could tell he wasn't lying. At the very least he isn't a liar, and because of that I will give him the benefit of the doubt." Makarov said matter-of-factly.

"There's also the fact that he decided to go with Natsu to rescue Macao without even knowing who he is or even being a member of our guild. People like that don't come around too often, Cana, so in my opinion we should at least believe him until we have a reason to suspect otherwise." Mirajane said, directing a small frown towards the brown-haired alcohol enthusiast.

"Geez… no need to be so hostile you two. I was just saying that it's pretty damn hard to believe, that's all." Cana commented lazily before returning her attention to her mug once again.

"Noted, now put a sock in it. I've had enough of all of you prattling about this 'he's insane' nonsense to fill my head for a lifetime. From now on keep your comments to a minimum, let's say zero. Am I understood?" Makarov asked.

"Yes master." The guild member's replied simultaneously.

"Good, since my point wasn't getting across the first time I said something I was worried you brats would never learn." Makarov thought aloud before he tried to take a sip from his mug once again.

Upon bringing it to his lips the master quickly realized that it was completely gone, after which he released a deep sigh and gestured the cup over to Mirajane. With a small giggle due to the master's childish attitude, the barmaid took the cup and went off to refill it.

'_I just hope those three kids are okay. I don't know what I'd do if I let anything happen to them because I decided not to worry Romeo_.' Makarov thought.

In truth he hadn't even intended to make it seem that he didn't care, but Macao was a strong Fairy Tail wizard and even against a Vulcan he should have been fine. That said, when he hadn't returned and Romeo kept pressing he thought it was the best decision to act as if everything was alright. No sense making a child panic if he didn't need to, at least that's how he saw it.

'_It's a good thing Natsu is the most stubborn person I've ever met in my life, otherwise Macao may have been in actual trouble._' Makarov thought.

A moment later the white-haired barmaid returned with the master's mug, giving it to him once more and instantly causing his thoughts to vanish in favor of taking part in the one pastime he shared with Cana.

_**Mount Hakobe: With Ichigo, Natsu, and Happy **_

"Natsu!" Ichigo shouted, realizing that the pink-haired dragon slayer had lagged behind a few paces.

"Yeah, what's up?" Natsu asked as he continued to trudge forward, his feline companion resting on his shoulder.

"This weather is getting pretty nasty, you sure it was okay to let Lucy go back on her own?" Ichigo asked.

The wind and snow had begun to pick up more and more as they had continued to head towards the summit of the rather large mountain. Granted that the weather was likely a good bit less severe the closer to the base you were, but even so it was never okay to take chances with an apparent monster roaming around.

The substitute thought that his latest friend would understand his slight sense of concern, but the best that he received was a confused expression and a raised brow. Not only that, but it also seemed that Happy was confused as well, almost as if they were both completely lost.

"Who?" Natsu asked confusedly, causing the orange-haired teen to deadpan.

"You're kidding me, right? Lucy, you know… blonde hair, can summon celestial spirits, she complained a lot about the weather and she decided to turn back. These ring any bells?" Ichigo pressed, his expression still deadpanned.

"Oh, you mean Luigi?" Happy asked in an upbeat manner, sounding as if he knew full well who was being referred to.

"Her name is Lucy…" Ichigo trailed off.

"Yeah, I remember, but why exactly are you bringing that up now? She's probably fine. After all, Vulcans don't typically steer towards the base of mountains, that's why we kept going up to where Macao will probably be." Natsu replied.

"All right then… so do you have any idea how to find Macao?" Ichigo questioned.

"Well, I can't smell Macao because of the blizzard, so my senses are useless here. But I think I've got a better idea." Natsu stated.

Ichigo raised a curios brow at this, but an instant later the pink-haired mage brought both of his hands up to his mouth and started to use them as a cone for the purposes of amplifying his voice. He couldn't believe the dragon slayer was about to do this, but nevertheless it still wasn't definitive that he was going to do something so obviously pointless and stupid.

"Hey Macao, where are you?!" Natsu shouted at the top of his lungs, almost prompting the substitute to slap a hand over his face.

"Natsu… I don't think that'll work." Ichigo said evenly, getting a surprised look from the pink-haired teen.

"Really? Because I thought that it was…" Natsu said, only to be cut off.

Abruptly a large white-furred, ape-like creature jumped from a nearby peak down towards the group of two humans and the additional feline. Its goal was quite obviously to smash both Natsu and Ichigo in one blow, but both of the talented fighters almost instantly leaped away and avoided the subsequent fist attack that smashed their previous positions.

"This thing's a Vulcan?" Ichigo asked, eyeing the bestial creature with a slight glare and his signature battle-ready scowl.

"Gehehehe…" The creature chuckled in a taunting manner.

"Yup, this big guy's a Vulcan alright." Natsu replied.

"Alright then…" Ichigo trailed off, grabbing the hilt of his zanpakuto in preparation for a fight.

His dragon slayer companion did much the same, getting into his own respective battle ready stance. However, the Vulcan didn't make any indication of recognizing that a fight was about to break out. Rather, it began to sniff the air around it, as if it smelled something. A moment later it released an extremely disturbing chuckle before it simply ran off, leaving both of its potential opponents confused.

'_Something isn't right…_' Ichigo thought.

"He just left?" Natsu wondered aloud, sounding unbelievably lost.

The words of the pink-haired Fairy Tail mage caused a realization to dawn on Ichigo. Something like that didn't just go and leave a fight because it was intimidated, especially given that it was the one who instigated the fight. No, it was clearly heading towards something else.

"Natsu, we have to hurry!" Ichigo exclaimed, after which he began to run off after the Vulcan.

"Wha… hey, wait up! Why are you in such a hurry all of a sudden?!" Natsu exclaimed as he and Happy followed suit.

"Think about it… it isn't running away from a fight, and it acted like it smelled something or someone else. Who else is on this mountain right now, Natsu?" Ichigo questioned.

Natsu's expression instantly became one of realization, and with that the two ran as fast as they were able, through the snow, the winds, and the treacherous terrain to save their blonde-haired comrade.

_**Further Down the Mountain: With Lucy **_

"Miss Lucy, we are making good progress but I warn you that as per my contract agreement I will likely not be able to take you all the way down." Horologium stated.

"That's fine Horologium, if you can just get me close enough I will be fine." Lucy replied, sounding as if something was bothering her slightly.

The celestial spirit easily picked up on this, but his current master didn't really seem as if she wanted to discuss it and, therefore, he decided to leave it alone for the time being.

'_Gah… I can't believe those two left me behind so easily, I'm sure if they'd asked me to come I would've been able to._' Lucy thought. That was, however, easier said than proven.

"Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" A bestial roar sounded off from further up the mountain path.

"What was that?!" Lucy exclaimed in an urgent manner, unable to see her behind her given that the clock didn't allow it.

Horologium turned a moment later, answering his master's unasked request to see what was happening, but shortly after doing so he sorely regretted his decision.

A large white-furred creature that could only be described as a monster charged relentlessly and effortlessly down the path to the mountain's summit, effectively causing Lucy to become whiter than a ghost.

The beast very quickly grabbed onto the clock with a sickening grin plastered on his apish face. The blonde celestial mage began to panic, however she was infinitely thankful that she was still, at least, safe within her spirit.

"Me like human woman…" The Vulcan trailed off, only adding to the girl's panic.

In the following instant the large creature picked up the wooden clock spirit over its head and began to run off, laughing and giggling like an idiotic baboon all the while. Out of options, the freshly names Fairy Tail member decided that she had but one option.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP, SHE EXCLAIMS QUITE URGENTLY!" Horologium shouted, doing his best to mimic the blonde's voice volume.

_**Higher Up the Mountain: With Ichigo and Natsu **_

"Huh?" Natsu mumbled, having heard the call for help a mile away.

The dragon slayer looked over to Ichigo, seeing that he too had heard the cry for help, though it was clearly still the voice of Lucy's contracted spirit.

"Dammit, we didn't get to her in time!" Ichigo exclaimed, clearly upset that this was the case.

"At least she's still inside the clock." Natsu stated.

"Aye! Now we just have to find the Vulcan's lair and rescue Lacy!" Happy chirped.

"You really think that's where it took her?" Natsu asked with a quirked brow.

"It does make sense… only problem is we don't know where to start looking." Ichigo stated, eliciting a nod of understanding from the pink-haired teen.

"Right… I think we should split up. You go up the mountain and look and I'll go off to where Lucy was. Since it went to all the trouble of running back just for her it has to live nearby, right?" Natsu mused.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

Both of the comrades nodded to one another before running off in opposite directions, each having one goal in mind, to rescue both Macao and now Lucy from the clutches of a literal monster.

_**Mount Hakobe: Vulcan's Lair**_

The large ape-like being entered its cave with a sickening grin still etched on his face and slight bouts of laughter still exiting its mouth every so often.

It subsequently placed the large clock spirit down in the center of its cave, after which the white-furred creature began to dance around in an idiotic fashion, only adding to the blonde's dismay.

"How did I get myself into this, and what's with this stupid monkey, she asks tearfully." Horologium said as he himself brought his hands over his eyes in a manner that illustrated he was crying.

The comment that the spirit had uttered caused the Vulcan to stop its meaningless dancing and look deeply into the glass casing, directly at the blonde celestial mage that was held within.

'_Thank god I'm still in here._' Lucy thought, chills echoing throughout her body just at the look the weird creature was giving her.

As if in an ironic twist of events, the clock vanished into this air, leaving its contractor sitting on the floor of the cave, directly in front of the Vulcan without any word of warning.

"Get back here Horologium! You can't leave me like this!" Lucy wailed.

"Sorry, but my time is up." The spirits' ethereal voice stated.

"Give me an extension!" Lucy whined as the beast neared.

"Gehehehehehe…" The Vulcan chuckled perversely, steam coming out of its nose as it closed in.

Lucy paled at the sight of the terrifying creature being so close to here, and due to the fact that her spirit was no longer present she didn't have a means to separate herself from the Vulcan. However, in a stroke of luck, another entered the cave with a clear attempt to save her.

"Hey you big ape!" Natsu shouted from the entrance, gaining the Vulcan's attention.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed happily.

"Aye!" Happy chirped, flying directly behind his best friend in the air at the cave's entrance.

"Hey Ichigo, I found her!" Natsu shouted from the entrance, causing Lucy to sweatdrop given that doing so was definitely not an effective means of communication. Still, it had worked on the Vulcan so he didn't see why it wouldn't work on Ichigo.

"Huh?" The Vulcan grunted confusedly, staring as the pink-haired mage began to run directly at him.

"Where's Macao, tell me?!" Natsu demanded, bringing back his fist.

The ape dodged the attack almost effortlessly, simply leaping backwards and leaving the side of his captive in favor of avoiding any potential damage. When this was done Lucy made to move behind the dragon slayer, inwardly sighing out of relief due to the fact that she was able to gain a bit of room to breathe.

"Tell me where my friend is ya big ape? Spill it." Nastu stated in an aggravated fashion.

"Huh?" The Vulcan uttered.

"You can understand me right? So tell me where my friend is, where are you keeping him?" Natsu repeated.

"Don't you think you're expecting a bit much?" Lucy thought aloud, sweatdropping at the conversation that the pink-haired mage was trying to have with the beast.

The Vulcan began to dance around, almost as if it understood and was trying to communicate something. It began to point off outside the cave, which made Natsu smile due to the fact that he thought his point had gotten through.

"See, he's trying to tell me something. Macao, where are you?!" Natsu shouted as he headed towards the entrance, given that this was where the ape was pointing.

With one strong push the creature sent Natsu flying out of the cave and down the mountain, illustrating that despite his stupid and rather idiotic demeanor the ape was capable of tricking someone, or at least someone like Natsu which may not have been saying much.

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" Natsu shouted as he fell.

"He can't survive out there! Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed out of worry as she headed towards the entrance.

"Me no like man, me like lady, me like lady." The Vulcan chanted triumphantly, once again dancing around like an idiot around its cave and pounding its chest.

"All right ya pervy ape, you're going down." Lucy said in a serious tone.

She reached towards her series of keys and grabbed one the next moment, preparing to summon a spirit she knew for a fact would be able to put up a fight.

"Open Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus." Lucy exclaimed.

A large magic seal appeared in the air, shortly after which yet another of her celestial spirits appeared. This one was, as its named suggested, a large, muscular bull wielding a large battle-axe and sporting a set of human-like hands, though they were proportional to his massive stature.

"Moooooooooo!" Taurus roared as he entered from the celestial portal.

"Cow?" The Vulcan muttered in a confused manner.

"I'm warning you, Taurus is the most powerful celestial spirit that I have a contract with." Lucy said in a serious tone.

"Oh wow Mrs. Lucy, I almost forgot what a nice figure you have. Why don't you come here and give me a smooch?" Taurus asked in a vulgar manner.

"Oh yeah, and he's a big perv too." Lucy thought aloud before releasing a sigh of sheer annoyance.

"No touch my woman." The Vulcan said warningly.

"Your woman? Them's fightin' words." Taurus stated matter-of-factly.

He very quickly pulled out his large battle axe and hammered the ground with it, using such force that the ground itself tore a path as if it were an attack headed straight towards the Vulcan with shocking accuracy.

The large ape-like creature was forced to dodge, after which it made to charge the bull spirit with everything it had.

"Oh wow, he's fast." Lucy exclaimed in a surprised manner, somewhat worried for her spirit.

Before the creature's attack could even reach Taurus, another decided to intervene, though not for the better. Right in front of Lucy's very eyes, Natsu reappeared and sent a kick directly into her own spirits' side, causing him to fly across the cave and subsequently knocking him out.

'_Did he just…_' Lucy thought with an expression of disbelief.

She looked on as the dragon slayer dusted off his hands, an expression of confusion etched on his face as he himself stared at the Vulcan. You could tell he didn't know how there were now two enemies, but once again it took clarification to realize the genuine stupidity of his action.

"Wait, since when was there two of them?" Natsu wondered aloud, his facial expression suggesting he was actually confused as to why this was the case.

"You blockhead! You just knocked out my own spirit!" Lucy shouted.

"Wait, what?" Natsu asked.

"Seriously Natsu?" A voiced called out from the entrance of the cave.

Everyone, including the Vulcan, turned to see the face of the orange-haired teen clad in black sporting a large cleaver-like sword strapped onto his back by white cloth.

"How the hell did you wind up doing that, you were even here before me when she summoned it!" Ichigo shouted in an annoyed manner.

"How was I supposed to know, I got pushed out of the cave by the Vulcan!" Natsu countered.

"You let him trick you so easily!" Lucy exclaimed in an annoyed fashion.

"It wasn't my fault!" Natsu said defensively, causing Ichigo to facepalm as he walked up to the dragon slayer and the celestial mage.

"Oh Mrs. Lucy, what lovely breasts you have…" Taurus muttered dreamily, causing said woman's face to light up in s brilliant shade of red.

"What the hell did he just say?!" Ichigo exclaimed, a light blush on his own face.

"You heard him right…" Lucy stated in a defeated tone.

"Oh Mrs. Lucy…" Taurus muttered.

"Pervert." Ichigo sneered before shifting his attention back to the large ape-like beast that had kidnapped his companion in the first place.

"The Vulcan was worse…" Lucy commented.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked.

The substitute then took several steps forwards, making to challenge the creature personally. Despite this it didn't seem to notice as it was preoccupied with another task.

"Gehehehehehe…" The Vulcan chuckled to itself as it walked towards the body of the fallen celestial spirit.

It very quickly grabbed the large battle axe, lifting it in a manner that suggested it knew exactly how to use it. Very clearly this was not good for those who opposed the large beast, but even so Ichigo and Natsu didn't look phased in the slightest.

"Me no want men, me want pretty lady." The Vulcan stated, glaring at Ichigo since he was the closest in proximity to him.

"Why the hell is everything in this world so damn weird?!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Me want pretty lady…" The Vulcan said perversely, steam once again coming out of his nose. His words, however, caused the glare of the black-clad teen to intensify and his scowl to return in full force.

"You're going to have to get through me first." Ichigo stated seriously.

"GAAAAAAAAAAA!" The Vulcan roared, charging the substitute with the axe of the bull spirit held high above his head.

The attack neared second by second, but the orange-haired teen didn't move an inch. In fact he didn't even draw his sword, which gave both Lucy and Natsu the thought that perhaps the creature was charging too quickly for him to counter with his sword. This, incidentally, was viewed as a very, very bad turn of events.

"Ichigo, get out of the way, one hit from that axe and you're done for!" Lucy shouted, knowing full well that the axe the Vulcan happened to be using was outrageously deadly.

"Gya!" The Vulcan grunted, slamming the large axe towards the orange-haired teen.

Ichigo sidestepped the axe before it even had a chance of slicing a single one of his hairs, after which he brought up his left fist and prepared to hit the creature in the gut in an effort to end this pitiful conflict as quickly as he was able.

Much to the amazement of everyone present, the fist connected, and it did well beyond what they had expected. The eyes of the large ape-like best nearly rolled to the back of his head, and small traces of saliva exited his mouth as his body zoomed back into the furthest wall of the cave, slamming into it with a loud resounding boom.

'_That was easier than I thought it'd be._' Ichigo thought, smirking contentedly at the fact that he had won so easily.

"Wow!" Lucy exclaimed, staring at the defeated form of the beast with wide eyes.

"I'll say… nice punch, you've been holdin' out on me." Natsu stated with a content smile etched on his face.

"Thanks, I guess. But we've still gotta find Macao, right?" Ichigo mused.

"Yeah, but still, what should we do with this guy?" Lucy asked, gesturing a finger to the defeated Vulcan.

Everyone turned to look at the beast with an expression of deep thought etched on their faces, after which the question seemed to answer itself. The form of the Vulcan became engulfed in a blinding yellow light, after which in a brief flash the body transformed, revealing a normal blue-haired man with a white overcoat.

"Macao?!" Natsu exclaimed, drastically confusing the others in his group.

"You mean to tell me that this whole time that perverted monkey was Macao?!" Lucy asked in a confused voice.

"The Vulcan probably used a possession spell on him." Happy mused.

"A what?" Ichigo asked, looking back at the blue Exceed with a curious expression.

"Vulcan's survive by taking over the bodies of other people. They're evil body snatchers!" Happy explained.

"Wait… then that means…" Ichigo trailed off, grimacing as he realized that the being he had punched was inadvertently the very same person they came to save.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure he's fine." Natsu assured, noticing the fact that his latest friend seemed to regret ending the fight the way he did.

That didn't necessarily comfort the substitute very much, however, what happened next very much did. Macao's eyes slowly began to open, and despite his injuries he seemed livelier than one would have expected.

"Macao, are you alright?!" Natsu asked urgently, jostling the man's shoulder in order to prevent him from dozing off.

"I'm such a wimp…" Macao muttered, confusing those present.

"I fought off nineteen of those things with no issues… but the twentieth one, that's the one that got me. I'm so useless, how can I go back and face Romeo now?" Macao wondered aloud.

'_He went up against twenty of them by himself?!_' Lucy thought.

"No way man, you took out nineteen of those monsters… now cheer up, we've gotta get you back home. Romeo's waiting for ya." Natsu stated with a large toothy grin.

"Heh… just wait a second for me to rest up…" Macao replied with a small smirk. He, however, drifted off into sleep a moment later, his expression peaceful but his breathing easy, which served as an indicator that he was fine.

"So he'll be okay?" Ichigo asked, looking down at the defeated form of what he now knew to be a Fairy Tail wizard.

"He'll live… now come on. Help me take him down the mountain so we can get him back to see Romeo." Natsu said.

Ichigo nodded firmly, after which they hoisted up Macao's body and began to walk out of the cave as if the weight and the weather didn't matter to them. Lucy could do nothing but stare in awe, a shocked expression plastered on her face, at the dedication the two showed just to get the mage back home.

'_So is this… is this what it's like to be a Fairy Tail wizard? They're just so… amazing._' Lucy thought to herself before she ran after them.

_**Magnolia: Outside the Fairy Tail Guild, Some Time Later…**_

Romeo sat outside the guild hall, his thoughts plagued by the myriad of insults he had heard about wizards, more specifically those of Fairy Tail. He had never paid any mind to such things, mostly because of the fact that he thought, and knew, they were wrong.

There were no better men or women in all of Fiore than the Fairy Tail wizards, and as for strength no one could hold a torch to them. His father was strong, and nothing anyone could ever say to him would change that.

That in mind, he was extremely worried. His father should have been back forever ago, and now even the master had started to get worried. The elderly mage hid it well for his sake, it seemed, but he could still tell that the sense of worriedness was present.

Despite how down his mood was at the moment, nothing compared to the turnaround that happened an instant later. Just as the sun was at its final hour in the day, he saw a group of four individuals and a very distinctive cat heading towards the guildhall.

He recognized each and every one of them, but nothing made him smile more than to see that his own father was in the group, being hoisted up by Natsu and the orange-haired man that he had seen enter the guild with the blonde-haired girl, who was also among those in the approaching group.

"DAD!" Romeo exclaimed, running towards the group and tackling his father with tears in his eyes.

Lucy was somewhat surprised by this, but Natsu and Ichigo couldn't help but smile at the display. The look of pure joy on the kid's face was enough to make everything more than worth the trip and effort it took to find his father. In fact, both of them would have done it a hundred times over, just to get the one end result.

"You came back, I'm so sorry dad!" Romeo said through his tears.

"No, I'm sorry for making you worry." Macao replied honestly, holding his son tightly.

"I can handle it, because I'm a wizard's son!" Romeo stated.

"The next time any of those bullies pick on you, here's what I want you to say. 'Can your old man take on nineteen monsters, cuz' mine can'." Macao stated with a warm smile.

Romeo himself, despite the tears that welled up in his eyes, smiled widely at his father's words. Truly it warmed the heart to see the two reunited, and with that done the group began to walk away, leaving the father and son to their reunion.

"You guy's, thanks for your help! Thank you for protecting my father!" Romeo shouted, causing Ichigo's eyes to widen slightly at the boy's choice of words as he and the others continued to walk away.

"No problem kiddo." Natsu replied cheerfully.

"Aye!" Happy exclaimed.

"It felt good to help him out, and seeing them reunited was worth dealing with that mountain." Lucy thought aloud.

"Of course it was. Fairy Tail is all about family, and family looks out for one another. Now that your apart of it, it's only natural that you feel that way." Natsu said with a toothy grin, prompting the blonde to nod in agreement.

'_Looking out for one another… protecting people no matter what. I think I can see what Fairy Tail is all about…_' Ichigo thought with a small smile.

In his mind perhaps joining the guild wasn't such a bad thing anymore. Doing so would allow him to at least be of some use, and if he saved even a single life that made it more than worthwhile. Plus, given that his only alternative was aimlessly wandering and waiting for his friends to locate him, this seemed very plausible.

"You know what… I think that's something I'd like to be a part of. I might just fit in here fine for the time being." Ichigo abruptly stated, much to the surprise of his companions.

'_Wait… does that mean that…_" Lucy thought before someone decided to outwardly finish for her.

"You're going to join Fairy Tail, for real?!" Natsu asked in an excited voice, eliciting a small chuckle from the orange-haired man.

"Yeah, I think I am." Ichigo replied.

"All right!" Natsu exclaimed happily, jumping up into the air with his fist raised high.

"Yay!" Happy cheered, flying around in circles in a manner that suggested he truly was joyful.

"So what're you going to go do now?" Lucy asked as the group neared the guildhall, being the only one outside of the substitute to not be dancing around happily.

"I think it's time I go sign up." Ichigo replied.

**A/N Next chapter just as an FYI will be posted on Monday. So, until then! **

_**Explanations**_:

**Spiritual Pressure in Relation to Weather**: I assume this is correct to a degree given that Soul Reapers or people with spiritual energy in general don't seem to ever be effected by environmental factors.

**Will Ichigo Learn Magic**: Technically, yes, he will, but not in the way that most of you are probably thinking… I only mention this because there were a few people who inquired about this so I felt I needed to address it.

**Conversations with Zangetsu and 'Zangetsu'**: Okay, so once again this was brought up in a review and I will just say this for the sake of informing people. This will be present to an extent but not for a decent amount of time, the reason for which will be explained when the dialogue between the two/three will pick up.

**Does Ichigo Have Hollowfication**: No, at the moment he does not. This is a response to a review by KO, but I felt I should just highlight this since he didn't really possess the ability after regaining his powers. I thought that this was a large amount of stupidity courtesy of Tite Kubo, but it is how things stand for the time being in this story.

**Re, Will there be other Bleach characters**: There will only be one that actually appears in this story, and in the sequel there will be many, many more than one. Take this to mean what you want, but that is how things stand.

_**Reviews**_:

**Krazyfanfiction1**: Yes, to a degree he will gain the ability to manipulate his powers, but I can't really say how that will come to light.

**hunter2424**: Yes, there will be, but not a large amount of it and it won't even start off for a bit of time.

**Lawrence Helmbain**: No, he will not gain access to Fullbring. Good question though.

**Guest (Zero)**: That may or may not happen, and that is just a reference to the two fighting one another in general. You'll see what I mean relatively soon.

**Arrankor**: A little bit of both. You can't expect for me to just blindly follow the Fairy Tail canon. I could make it very readable, but in the end a few surprises here and there are needed, right? :))

**Mr. unknow** Yes, his Bankai still works, but he won't really have a need to use it for quite some time.


	5. Welcome to the Guild!

**A/N Hey guys, hope you weren't kept waiting too long. Next Chapter will be posted on Friday, as per usual thus far. **

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 5 **

"You're going to join Fairy Tail, for real?!" Natsu asked in an excited voice, eliciting a small chuckle from the orange-haired man.

"Yeah, I think I am." Ichigo replied.

"All right!" Natsu exclaimed happily, jumping up into the air with his fist raised high.

"Yay!" Happy cheered, flying around in circles in a manner that suggested he truly was joyful.

"So what're you going to go do now?" Lucy asked as the group neared the guildhall, being the only one outside of the substitute to not be dancing around happily.

"I think it's time I go sign up." Ichigo replied.

_**Magnolia: Inside the Fairy Tail Guildhall, A Few Moments Later…**_

"We're back!" Natsu shouted, kicking the door down once again just as he did previously.

Many of the members looked at the entrance to see the dragon slayer and all of his known accompanying friends back in one peace. At the very least this meant the only potential casualty had been Macao, but most knew all too well that Natsu wasn't the type to let that happen.

The group began to walk towards the main bar once again, all eyes of the guild still on them either directly or in the case of some through a hidden series of glances. Everyone had a single question running through their respective minds, but it wasn't asked by anyone until the trio and Happy made their way towards the main bar and sat down.

"So did you find Macao?" Mira asked, anticipation lacing her voice.

"We sure as hell did! Romeo is outside talkin' to his dad as we speak." Natsu said with a big grin spread across his lips.

"All right Natsu!" The guildhall cheered, several raising their glasses. Even Cana smirked as she took a sip from the mug she currently held.

"That was sweet of you to do Natsu. You should be proud of yourself." Mirajane stated sweetly.

"Thanks everyone, but I can't take all the credit. Ichigo here ended up finishing the job by taking out the Vulcan with one punch." Natsu said, smirking slightly as he turned to look at his orange-haired friend.

Ichigo himself didn't necessarily want the attention or the credit for doing what he did, but luckily the guildhall didn't seem to take the dragon slayer's word as what actually occurred, at first. However he was positive Natsu wasn't about to let anyone claim it was a lie anytime soon.

"No way!" Someone sneered.

"I don't believe it." Another commented.

"No, it's true all right, and it was totally awesome!" Natsu exclaimed, likely using a bit more enthusiasm than was needed.

"I'll say, it was really impressive… I mean, it was completely unreal." Lucy admitted.

"Aye!" Happy chirped before walking off to find food, preferably fish.

"It wasn't really that big a deal…" Ichigo trailed off in a bashful manner, rubbing the back of his head slightly.

"Is this true, Ichigo?" Mira asked with a surprised expression from the other side of the bar.

"Well… yeah, I guess, but at the same time I didn't know Macao had been possessed by a Vulcan since I didn't know they could do that to people. So I do regret not holding back more than I did. Still, it worked out in the end since even right now Romeo has his dad back, safe and sound." Ichigo replied, eliciting a nod from the white-haired former wizard.

"That's true… Romeo is probably overjoyed just to have his dad back." Mira commented.

"Yeah, he just looked so happy." Lucy added, smiling as she thought back to the events of just a few minutes prior.

"In any case, well done my boy." Makarov said happily from the end of the bar before taking another sip of his ale.

"Hang on a minute, you 'wished you held back more'?" Natsu asked with a large smirk, drawing the attention of the resident substitute.

'_He really does seem to like fighting just as much as Kenpachi…_' Ichigo thought, however this time he prevented the involuntary shiver at the concept of such a person existing.

"You really have been holdin' out on me then… now I definitely want to have a fight with you." Natsu stated, his smirk increasing in size and fire seemingly burning in his eyes.

"It was just a figure of speech, you're really over exaggerating." Ichigo answered calmly, redirecting his eyes in an innocent manner.

"Oh, I see how it is. What was I thinking?" Natsu said sarcastically, his smirk still holding as if to say he didn't buy his friend's words it in the slightest.

"Anyway, why don't you tell Mirajane the reason that your actually back here, Ichigo." Lucy suggested, reminding the substitute of the reason he had actually bothered to follow them into the guildhall.

"You have something to tell me?" Mirajane asked in a surprised voice.

'_I think I know what this is about…_' Makarov thought with a grin, though he chose not to say anything until his suspicions were confirmed.

"Thanks for reminding me Lucy. Also, yeah, I do have something to tell you… and I guess the old man as well. While I'm here, I think it'd be a good choice to join Fairy Tail… if that's still alright, of course." Ichigo replied evenly.

Many in the guild were slightly surprised by this, and several individuals, particularly Cana, nearly choked on their drinks. The master released a slight chuckle, but that was rendered inaudible given that nearby several people were whispering or in some cases coughing loudly, and Mirajane herself kept her reaction to an expression of mild surprise. Natsu, however, just smirked widely at this, while Lucy smiled and Happy just continued to eat the fish he had been consuming on one of the guild's many tables.

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Mira asked, her tone only holding a slight amount of curiosity.

"I've heard it a few times about how you all think Fairy Tail is the best guild out there, but after we got back from Mount Hakobe I got to see why that is firsthand. The aspect of family and togetherness, of always being there for one another, is something that Fairy Tail is seems to embody a great deal. That is something I want to be a part of, because I gained my powers to help out others and to protect those I care about. That is why I want to join Fairy Tail." Ichigo replied, his words being heard by the entirety of the guild.

The orange-haired teen likely didn't realize the gravity of what he had just said or the fact that everyone had heard him, but that didn't change the fact that it had a significant impact. He had practically proclaimed his reason for joining were exactly what each and every one of them all loved so much about the guild.

Knowing this, not a single person, not a soul in the room could deny that the master's words had been true. Within the heart of this potentially insane individual did beat the heart of a Fairy Tail wizard, and crazy or not nothing would change that. The otherworldly-teen belonged with them now, and they would respond as such.

'_Guess the master was right… he's probably crazy, but at least he's a crazy person with a good head on his shoulders._' Cana thought, ignoring the irony of her inner speech.

Mirajane smiled warmly at his words, the orange-haired teen having listed off exactly what she loved about Fairy Tail so much. The master himself was grinning like a madman, though that was most likely because, at this point, the entirety of the guildhall knew his words had rung true.

"Well said my boy, I like the answer you just gave." Makarov stated, raising his mug high in the air to illustrate his contentedness.

"Then welcome to Fairy Tail, Ichigo." Natsu officially greeted, placing a hand on the substitute's shoulder before releasing a bout of laughter.

"I still have to give him the guild mark though…" Mirajane trailed off.

"Oh right… meh, he's still practically already in the guild anyway!" Natsu stated matter-of-factly.

The white-haired woman then reached down into the counter behind the bar, taking out what looked like some kind of stamping device with the official seal of Fairy Tail clearly etched on its bottom.

"What color did you want?" Mirajane asked cheerfully.

"I don't know… what do you think, Natsu?" Ichigo asked, looking back at the pink-haired mage.

"Me?" Natsu asked confusedly, gesturing a finger towards himself.

"Well you are the reason I know about Fairy Tail in the first place, so it's only fair." Ichigo reasoned, sending the fire mage a small smile. There was also the fact that he didn't really care, but he figured the overjoyed dragon slayer would for some reason or another.

"Sure, I'd be happy to." Natsu replied.

"You called?" Happy questioned, flying up to the group with his usual look of ignorance and bliss.

"Sorry buddy, wasn't trying to." Natsu clarified, placing a hand on the back of his head in a sheepish manner.

The blue Exceed merely shrugged it off and went back to whatever it was that it had been doing, likely something to do with fish.

"By the way, before we even get to any of that, shouldn't you have the stamp on your actual body? I can't see it being easy getting you out of those clothes." Mirajane commented.

"Now, now Mira, no need to try and get our latest member out of his clothes so soon after meeting him… BWAHAHAHAH!" Makarov chuckled uncontrollably.

Ichigo blushed and directed a glare towards the master of the guild while unbeknownst to him the white-haired barmaid did much the same, though her hands were placed against her hips in a show that she was genuinely annoyed.

The guild master and Fairy Tail's well-respected leader still sat in place, only he noticed something about the impish wizard that he hadn't before. His body language, his expression, and the redness of the master's cheeks told the substitute everything he needed to know. Evidently the drink that was currently in his hand was not his first.

"Oh golly I'm drunk." Makarov said with an alcoholic blush on his face.

"Seriously? How much did he drink while we were gone?" Lucy asked to no one in particular.

"I may have lost count because I was worried…" Mirajane quietly admitted, clearly not being particularly proud of that fact.

"Anyway… you're right, Mirajane, it probably would be best if I entered my human body to get the guild mark. Where is it, by the way?" Ichigo asked, directing the immediate group's attention towards the guild's resident barkeep.

"Oh, well its back here." Mira replied, after which she merely picked up the body from its position on the floor and dropped it on the long wooden bar.

"And you kept it on the floor why?" Ichigo asked with a deadpanned expression.

"You asked me to keep it safe, and I had to at least try to hide it when I went out to get some supplies, otherwise people would mess with it when I wasn't here." Mirajane explained.

That didn't really justify such a poor hiding place, but it was the thought that counted. Thus, the substitute picked up the body, positioned it in a chair, and shortly thereafter reentered it without any hindrance.

"Damn my back is stiff. What are these floors made of?" Ichigo asked, feeling the results of being practically sleeping on the floor for several hours in rapid succession.

"Wood of course." Happy answered.

"It was rhetorical…" Lucy clarified, though she didn't think she'd need to.

"Thanks for watching it though." Ichigo stated, wanting to at least illustrate he was grateful.

"Happy to help." Mira replied, waving a hand as if to say it was actually nothing.

"You called?" Happy chirped, once again flying over to the group.

"Sorry Happy, I wasn't trying to." Mira apologized with a warm smile.

"You guys are so mean!" Happy huffed before flying off once more.

"So where would you like it and in what color?" Mirajane asked sweetly.

Ichigo and the former demon of Fairy Tail then both turned to see Natsu humming in thought. It seemed that he was giving consideration, but since it was just a simple color they didn't really understand why this was the case.

'_Let's see… where should it go and what color?_' Natsu thought, tapping his chin.

Very clearly he could have just picked something random, but the dragon slayer felt the need for it to be somewhat symbolic. Something about Ichigo just breathed that they would get along swimmingly, and thus he decided he would give the location of someone he both feared and respected more than anyone else and the color that he himself sported.

"Middle part of his upper left arm, red." Natsu directed, causing the orange-haired teen to deadpan.

"That's a bit specific, any particular reason?" Ichigo asked.

"Nope, not really." Natsu replied with a shrug, though he was inwardly chuckling.

'_Hmm… why does that seem familiar to me? Oh well, probably just my imagination._' Mira thought.

"Alright, I've got no complaints. Feel free to do it whenever." Ichigo said before rolling up his sleeve of his black long-sleeved shirt to the point that his upper left bicep was visible.

"Sure thing." Mirajane replied.

The former wizard took the device an instant later and within a moment of contact withdrew it, revealing a crimson Fairy Tail guild mark to be located on the orange-haired teen's mid-left bicep. She still couldn't help but wonder why Natsu chose the location and color that he did, but it wasn't very important so she didn't really dwell on it.

"Glad to have you officially in the guild." Natsu stated with a toothy grin.

"I'm sure you have a few questions about jobs since you're probably going to need some jewels as soon as possible, but it's getting late so I can explain to you the basics tomorrow, if that's okay." Mirajane offered.

"Sure, that'd be great. Thanks a lot." Ichigo said with a small smile, which the barmaid returned in kind.

"Happy to help." Mira replied.

"Did you guys actually call this time…" Happy asked warily, coming up the group from the ground this time around.

"Nope, she didn't, sorry about that buddy. Stay here anyway, we're about to head out anyway." Natsu said, prompting the blue-haired feline to nod in understanding.

"Aye sir!" Happy exclaimed, hopping up onto the dragon slayer's shoulders.

The pink-haired teen then turned to Ichigo, knowing full well that their latest member currently had a bit of a situation on his hands with the whole 'not having a place to stay, food, or any money' thing. However that was a given since he wasn't really from their world, and with that in mind he spoke once more.

"Ichigo, do you actually have a place to stay for the night?" Natsu asked, eliciting a shake of the head from the target of his inquiry.

"No, but I'll figure something out." Ichigo replied.

"Mira, you should ask him to stay with you! You already tried to get him out of his clothes… BWAHAHAHAHA!" Makarov drunkenly joked, after which he began rolling around uncontrollably.

"Master…" Mirajane trailed off in a warning manner, a light blush creeping across her face.

The elderly wizard didn't seem to make a reply or acknowledge the barmaid's annoyance. He did, however, roll off of the barrel he had been sitting atop of a moment later, after which he hit the ground without any resistance and released a pained groan.

"So that old man is really the one in charge? I already regret my decision to join…" Ichigo said, a tick mark popping out of his forehead and a blush covering his face.

"Ditto." Lucy commented.

"Anyway, I was gonna ask if maybe you wanted to come stay the night at my place, what with you being from another world and all…" Natsu offered.

"How can you say that with a straight face so easily?" Cana asked from across the room.

"Well if it's the truth why wouldn't I be able to do it easily?" Natsu countered as if it was the obvious answer.

"Then again, that's only if you really do believe it…" Cana muttered under my breath, being quiet enough for no one else to hear. She was, after all, grateful that the orange-haired teen had rescued Macao, therefore just this once she figured she would show a bit of respect and keep her words to herself.

"So, how 'bout it?" Natsu offered once again.

"I don't know… are you sure it'd be okay?" Ichigo asked with a bit of apprehension.

It wasn't that he had a particular issue with accepting the dragon slayer's hospitality, it was more along the lines of him not wanting to impose. Despite the fact that he knew his situation wasn't the greatest, that still wasn't a reason to burden other people excessively.

"Sure, it's no problem at all. In fact I'd be disappointed if ya didn't accept." Natsu replied in a friendly manner.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

Ichigo nodded in understanding before the group exited the guildhall, waving goodbye as they did so. When the entrance was shut once again, the guildhall was quiet for a few moments, no one really saying anything in the wake of the day's events.

"You know, I still don't know how Natsu can believe that stuff so easily." Cana thought aloud.

"The master has said he believes him, so why are you having a hard time?" Mirajane countered in a calm voice.

"Ignoring what the master said, what do you think Mira?" Cana asked, curiosity prominent in her tone.

"The way he told us about where he came from and the way he acts allows me to believe he was telling the truth. Regardless of how difficult it is to believe, I don't think he's lying." Mirajane replied honestly.

"Ichigo seems like a real man, and real men don't lie." Elfman stated pointedly, backing up his elder sibling.

"I still don't know if I buy it… I mean, I'd need to see something to tell me otherwise. Either way it looks like things will definitely be interesting around here for the near future." Cana commented with a chuckle.

"I think we can trust him. If what he said to Mira was any indication he will fit in fine around here." A petite girl with blue hair commented, taking her eyes off of the book she currently sported in her hands.

"Yeah… plus he went with Natsu to save Macao, we can't forget about that. I think he's at least earned a bit of leeway." Another said in agreement.

"I never said I minded him joining, just sayin' that his story isn't easy to believe." Cana clarified.

"That may be true, but I know he's telling the truth. I am surer of it now than I was the first time I spoke to him. What's more, that boy has an aura around him, an aura of power that I don't think I've ever quite felt from anyone else. It's so unique, but if you try feeling for his magical energy it's impossible to miss and also impossible to identify." Makarov stated, an alcoholic blush no longer present on his face. Evidently his fall had somewhat sobered him up.

'_I feel the same thing… I wonder what kind of powers he has? Is it similar to magic, or is it something else entirely?_' Mirajane wondered. Perhaps if she was fortunate enough she would be able to see how he fought firsthand.

_**Outside Natsu's Home, Some Time Later…**_

"Thanks for letting me stay in your home by the way." Ichigo said as the three made their way up to the dragon slayer's humble abode.

"No problem… in fact, feel free to stay as long as ya like. I've got plenty of room, after all." Natsu replied with a smile as he made to grab the door's handle.

"Thanks, but I think…" Ichigo began, only to pause immediately after the pink-haired mage opened the entrance to his house.

The substitute stared with wide eyes and mouth agape at the colossal mess he found the wizard's home to be in. At the same time he could tell, very easily, that this was perfectly normal given by the fact that Natsu was currently staring at his expression with a confused look.

"What?" Natsu asked confusedly.

"Why the hell is everything so dirty?" Ichigo questioned, gesturing a finger inside the pigsty that was the mage's house.

Trash and food was everywhere, furniture was literally in random spots all over the ground floor, the stench was awful, and perhaps worse of all it was very clear that the cleaning supplies existed in the form of an open closet with nearly everything one would need to clean a given space within it.

"The place isn't really that dirty…" Natsu said, looking at the contents of his home skeptically. Even so, he still didn't seem to see anything wrong with it.

"Yeah Ichigo, I don't know what you mean." Happy stated from atop the dragon slayer's shoulder.

The orange-haired teen released a tired sigh, after which he got in front of Natsu, pushed him back outside the house, and then immediately shut the door, much to the said mage's confusion and mild agitation. Happy just stood in place smiling blankly at the door as if nothing had happened.

"What the hell?! Why'd you go and do that?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Wait outside, I'm cleaning." Ichigo replied simply.

Natsu raised a brow at this and was, in fact, prepared to say more to the alleged Substitute Soul Reaper. However, the words died in his mouth and he decided he would simply remain quiet for however long it took his latest friend to do whatever it was that he wanted.

_**Thirty Minutes Later…**_

The dragon slayer's ears perked up upon hearing the quiet sound of his wooden door opening, shortly after which he saw the form of Ichigo standing between himself and the inside of his home.

"You can come in now, I finished." Ichigo permitted before heading back into the house.

Natsu and Happy gave each other a curious look before each headed into their mutual home, but when they got in their eyes widened significantly at what they saw.

Neither of them had previously seen their place as dirty in any real sense of the word, but after witnessing how it looked now, it had been a practical dumpster by comparison. They could actually see the floors of the house as opposed to randomly separated bits of trash, and the furniture was arranged almost perfectly.

"So… clean…" Happy trailed off in an amazed voice.

"I try." Ichigo said contentedly.

"How did you do this in thirty minutes?" Natsu asked, turning to the orange-haired teen with a surprised look still etched on his features.

"It wasn't really that difficult." Ichigo replied with a shrug.

"Okay… _why_ did you clean all of this?" Natsu questioned.

"I prefer where I stay to be neat. Besides, you can think of this as my way of paying you back for letting me stay here." Ichigo replied.

"Hehe, you should stay here all the time, then I'd never have to clean." Natsu joked.

'_It didn't look like you did anyway…_' Ichigo thought.

"Yeah, then we can be even messier because super-maid Ichigo will clean it up!" Happy cheered.

"Ha, ha, very funny… but I didn't know what to do with a few things." Ichigo stated, gesturing a hand towards a large collective pile of items that held no meaning to him.

However, said items, during the time he was cleaning, were the only things maintaining any semblance of organization. He just assumed that they held some kind of significance to Natsu and, as a result, he didn't want to just throw them out with the rest of the garbage that littered the house.

"Just leave them be for now. Oh, that reminds me." Natsu said before he began to dig into his pockets.

Ichigo watched as the pink-haired teen pulled out a piece of paper and then placed it directly on the pile of objects that he himself had gathered. He couldn't really read what was on it, but it appeared the dragon slayer intended to explain.

"This is the signature of the fake Salamander we both fought in Hargeon. All this stuff is basically keepsakes that I have from a lot of fun times." Natsu explained with a large smile.

"You didn't really strike me as the sentimental type." Ichigo replied, sporting a small smile himself at the evidently nostalgic Fairy Tail wizard.

"Hehe, well what can I say? Besides, at least now I've got something from when I met Lucy and you. I guess it's just my own little way of remembering good times." Natsu mused, rubbing the back of his head in a bashful manner.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

"Alright, it's getting pretty late so you ready to hit the hay?" Natsu suggested, eliciting a nod from the substitute.

"Wait, but where do you even sleep? I didn't see anything like a bed when I was cleaning, and…" Ichigo began, causing both of his latest acquaintances to laugh at his words.

"I sleep on a hammock… but don't worry, I've got two of 'em so you can still have something to sleep on." Natsu replied.

'_I thought that was just for relaxing…_' Ichigo thought. It, however, didn't really surprise him all that much that the pink-haired wizard simply slept in one.

The three walked up towards the collectively three hammocks, on up high and small for the resident Exceed, and two far closer to the ground for Ichigo and Natsu respectively.

It didn't take very long for them to get situated, Natsu and Happy just hopping in and Ichigo grabbing only a blanket before he was good to go and got into his as well. They seemingly kept their positions, speaking not a word, but unbeknownst to one another neither was asleep. Well, this was the case up until the point that one of them chose to speak.

"Hey Ichigo…" Natsu called in a hushed tone.

"Yeah?" Ichigo asked from across the room, sleep having not taken him just yet.

"You awake?" Natsu inquired.

"Since I started talking to you, obviously not." Ichigo answered.

"Oh yeah… hehe, sorry about that." Natsu replied with a small chuckle.

"Don't worry about it." Ichigo said, waving it off since it really didn't matter.

"Mind if I ask you a personally question?" Natsu asked, seemingly out of the blue.

The orange-haired teen was slightly surprised by this, mostly because he didn't really expect anything like this coming from Natsu. It wasn't that he minded being asked, it truly just shocked him.

"Um… Ichigo?" Natsu called, breaking the teen out of his thoughts.

"Wha? Oh, sorry about that. No, I guess I don't really mind." Ichigo replied.

"Do you… do you miss your friends and family?" Natsu asked.

The pink-haired dragon slayer felt a bit of apprehension in asking the question, but in truth it had been the one thing he had wanted to ask Ichigo since he truly decided to believe his claims shortly after they met. The one thing he himself valued was his family, his guild mates and his foster father Igneel, and he couldn't picture being thrown into another world, so far away from them with no immediate way of returning. Perhaps it was out of place, but he simply wanted to know.

Across the room Ichigo frowned at the question, not because it struck a nerve or because it caught him by surprise, mostly just because he wasn't sure how to answer the question. Of course he missed them, but he could never really express how much, and even if he did in the long run it wouldn't matter given that he knew, eventually, they would be able to find him. The theory about his combat pass was even plausible enough to suggest that. However, as a result of this, another bout of silence ensued, neither the dragon slayer nor the substitute saying a word.

'_That really is a weird question… but it isn't a bad one._' Ichigo thought.

"Sorry I asked that… you know what, just forget I did, okay?" Natsu said, believing that perhaps his inquiry had stepped across some sort of line.

"No… it isn't that I mind, I just don't really know what to say. Yes, I do miss my friends and family. I miss my dad, my sisters Karin and Yuzu, and everyone I've become close with over the years. At the same time though, it isn't like I won't ever see them again, so it isn't all that bad." Ichigo replied. On top of that he hadn't really been separated from them for a large amount of time at this point.

"What about your mom?" Happy asked in a curious tone.

Natsu's eyes shot wide open from his position immediately below the blue-furred cat, his thoughts being that very clearly she was left out for a reason. Even from the distance across the room he could tell that the mood of his latest friend had grown sullen, and he didn't need to be a genius to guess why.

"Happy." Natsu quietly snapped.

"What'd I do?!" Happy exclaimed worriedly, picking up on the tone his best friend chose to use.

It took a moment, but the traditionally clueless Exceed understood the situation despite himself. Shortly thereafter he felt actually bad about what he had said, and almost immediately chose to apologize.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to…" Happy said, sounding perfectly genuine in his apology.

"Don't worry, I'm not mad about it… it's just… it's just something that isn't easy to talk about, so if it's alright with you I'd rather not." Ichigo stated.

"Yeah… you're lucky though, to have a family I mean. My guild is my family now, but for the longest time I didn't really have anyone. I had Igneel when I was a kid, but I never knew my parents. After Igneel left randomly, I was really lost, so that's why I asked you that question, since I can only imagine how you feel." Natsu explained, quickly changing the subject to something that would hopefully not make his latest friend more sullen.

"I'm sorry to hear that, it must've been tough when he left…" Ichigo said, a small amount of sympathy clear in his voice.

"Well, maybe at first… but it all worked out in the long run, and I still haven't given up hope that I'll see him again, one day." Natsu replied.

"I remember you saying something like that when we were making our way back to Fairy Tail… also, was that why you beat up that guy the first thing when you got back?" Ichigo asked, raising a brow despite the fact he knew full well the dragon slayer couldn't see him.

"That's part of it… but fights are more or less how we show we care in Fairy Tail." Natsu replied.

"And that's not weird to you?" Ichigo questioned.

"Not at all." Natsu answered happily.

"It's part of what makes Fairy Tail the best guild in all of Fiore!" Happy piped in.

"That so? Well… goodnight, Natsu, Happy." Ichigo said in an attempt to bring their conversation to an end.

"Goodnight." Happy replied cheerfully.

"Goodnight, Ichigo, night little buddy." Natsu said, smiling warmly before he yawned and began to drift off into sleep.

The dragon slayer had started to learn a bit more about his latest friend, and to be honest he saw a lot of himself in him. Even the reasons the substitute gave for joining the guild had mirrored what he loved about it the most. Moreover his current situation was exactly that of his own when Igneel had left him all those years ago, and that was something he really didn't get over until he found Fairy Tail.

Perhaps he did feel a bit of a connection with the orange-haired teen, but even beyond that they got along very well. Ichigo's situation was still definitely less than preferable, but everything happens for a reason, or so they say.

**A/N Okay, so just a brief reminder that the next chapter will be posted on Friday.**

_**Explanations**_: _**(Not really anything to say for this chapter…) **_

_**Reviews**_:

**HurricaneGohan94**: Yes, yes I have.

**Exanime Draco**: It won't happen for quite some time as the first several villains of Fairy Tail are quite weak and Ichigo is quite strong. As for the mission where Lucy gets Virgo's key, no, he will not be going on it. The reason is that it would just wind up being boring, but rest assured what will happen with Ichigo will be revealed the next chapter.

**Im Not Itachi**: Ichigo's level of power is… something that is difficult to explain since I haven't really given it too much thought. I know things will be easy for him up to a point, but eventually he will fight opponents that are somewhat comparable to him. Nothing I can really give you though since I myself haven't really accurately gauged his power just yet xD.

**revan1989**: I didn't have him do it because that would just make the chapter a bit dull and boring… but yes, he could and likely would have done it. Also, yes he most likely can cut through anything that isn't coated in some kind of magical armor. He could have easily sliced the Vulcan in half, but for obvious reasons I didn't have him do it. For your last question, no he will not be learning Kido, though I am tempted to try and work that in at some point…

**KO**: I believe I said this in the previous chapter, but he cannot currently use his hollowfication. Also, technically speaking Fullbring isn't the same as a hollows powers. You can think of it as a more hollow-version of a Quincy's powers in a way, but it isn't directly the powers of a hollow. Vulcan's, btw, aren't really that strong, and Ichigo is, so obviously I can't have that big ape put up a good fight :P

**Sir Guest III**: Simple misunderstanding, but I said I would _not_ be increasing the power levels of people in the Fairy Tail universe for the sake of this story.

**lancem**: Zangetsu stays as it is for this story, but it will potentially change in the sequel. I am not entirely sure how I feel about the dual-wield Zangetsu.


	6. First Day on the Job

**A/N Next Chapter will be posted on Monday, just as an FYI. Also, I will say this because a lot of people seem to say things like 'I hope the next chapter comes out soon' or something like that in their reviews. I will just let you know now that ****I WILL ALWAYS LET YOU KNOW WHEN THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE POSTED****. Basically, if I say it in the A/N's, count on that being the date it comes out on barring any unforeseen occurrences, but I am usually pretty good with that stuff. In fact, for my previous story, I don't think I missed a promised update date at all, which is quite something if you take into account that it was over 60 chapters spanning over a year. Anyway,** **without further delay…**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 6 **

"That's part of it… but fights are more or less how we show we care in Fairy Tail." Natsu replied.

"And that's not weird to you?" Ichigo questioned.

"Not at all." Natsu answered happily.

"It's part of what makes Fairy Tail the best guild in all of Fiore!" Happy piped in.

"That so? Well… goodnight, Natsu, Happy." Ichigo said in an attempt to bring their conversation to an end.

"Goodnight." Happy replied cheerfully.

"Goodnight, Ichigo, night little buddy." Natsu said, smiling warmly before he yawned and began to drift off into sleep.

The dragon slayer had started to learn a bit more about his latest friend, and to be honest he saw a lot of himself in him. Even the reasons the substitute gave for joining the guild had mirrored what he loved about it the most. Moreover his current situation was exactly that of his own when Igneel had left him all those years ago, and that was something he really didn't get over until he found Fairy Tail.

Perhaps he did feel a bit of a connection with the orange-haired teen, but even beyond that they got along very well. Ichigo's situation was still definitely less than preferable, but everything happens for a reason, or so they say.

_**Natsu's Home, The Next Morning…**_

"Natsu…" Happy called.

The dragon slayer and the substitute currently lay in their respective hammocks sleeping soundly if the peaceful expressions on their faces were anything to go by. Happy was, for the moment, the only one among them who was awake, therefore he took it upon himself to carefully wake them up so as not to upset them a great degree.

When the pink-haired teen did nothing but mumble and roll over on his side, his back subsequently facing the blue-furred Exceed, Happy took that to mean his attempt at peacefully waking up his best friend ended in failure.

Accepting the fact that he had tried, because technically he had, the resident feline summoned his wings, made a move to the upper part of the hammock near the beam it was tethered to, and gracefully flipped it. However, graceful only described the manner in which it was flipped, how its occupant landed was another story entirely.

Natsu then hit the floor with a loud thud, his face being the first part of his body to actually connect with the hard wood. Within a moment he picked himself up, tick marks popping out of his forehead, and he prepared to scream at his friend for waking him up in such a horrible way.

He was, however, silenced upon the blue feline gesturing a finger towards the only other occupant of the room. That gave him pause, given that at the very least it was clear Ichigo was still sleeping soundly, and obviously his yelling would cause him to wake up.

"That hurt Happy, what the hell?!" Natsu asked in a quiet voice, his anger very evident but his voice volume surprisingly contained.

"Sorry Natsu, I tried to wake you up another way but you just wouldn't listen." Happy replied, crossing his arms upon landing back on the floors and retracting his wings.

"Next time just poke me or something, okay?" Natsu asked, deciding something that stupid wasn't worth being angry over this early in the morning.

"Aye!" Happy replied in a hushed tone.

"Anyway… let me show you how to wake someone up _without_ flipping them over and making them land on the floor." Natsu stated as he walked up to his latest companion.

The Fairy Tail wizard stopped at the side of the hammock, getting a good look at the fact that his house guest was dead asleep. Even so, he wasn't about to do a repeat of what Happy did, and thus he simply decided to slightly stir him.

"Ichigo… wake up." Natsu called in a voice of normal volume.

The orange-haired teen made no sign of acknowledging that he had heard the call, which caused Natsu to scratch his head. He thought his voice was definitely loud enough to hear, or maybe it was that he really was that tired.

"Poke him Natsu." Happy suggested, recalling that is exactly the thing that his friend had advised he do a moment ago.

"Alright… hey, Ichigo, wake u…" Natsu began, poking the shoulder of the substitute as he spoke.

He didn't even get to finish his sentence as the moment his finger came into contact with Ichigo's shoulder said orange-haired teen instantaneously woke up and punched the dragon slayer with such force that he was sent flying across the room, hitting the opposite wall with a loud bang.

Happy just looked at the display with an expression mirroring absolute shock or fear, while Natsu just slid down the wall with a bucket covering his head and quiet groans escaping his lips. Ichigo, however, just looked extremely confused as he could have sworn he was asleep a moment ago. Yet now he was currently standing with his fist primed in a way that suggested he had recently thrown a punch.

'_What did I…_' Ichigo thought, only to stop upon seeing the dragon slayer across the room, lying on the ground with a metal bucket over his head. He then looked over to the blue-furred Exceed, who almost instantly adopted an expression of fear.

"Don't hit me!" Happy begged in a fearful manner.

"What? No! I wouldn't do that, I just… sorry about that, Natsu." Ichigo said in a slightly embarrassed manner.

"Oww…" Natsu mumbled upon taking the bucket off of his head.

He then walked over to Ichigo, clenching his stomach briefly given that it definitely wasn't something he was prepared for. Usually he was never hit this early in the morning given that a certain scarlet-haired mage didn't see him until he arrived at the guild. Needless to say he had no intention of making this a habit.

"What was that for?!" Natsu exclaimed confusedly.

"I umm… well, you see, my dad had a habit of waking me up every morning by attacking me, to make sure I was always ready if someone did actually attack me for some reason. It's really weird, I know, but it did build in good reflexes…" Ichigo replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, I'll say." Natsu grumbled, having just witnessed the results firsthand.

"Aye." Happy said in agreement.

"By the way, that would have been something nice to know before I tried waking you up. If I had known, I'd have called that bastard Gray over to wake you up." Natsu said, actually smirking at the thought.

"Again, sorry." Ichigo apologized.

"Meh, don't worry about it. I've been hit a lot harder than that before." Natsu replied with a friendly smile.

"So what exactly do you have planned today?" Ichigo asked in a curious tone.

The dynamic of a guild was very interesting to say the least. It wasn't quite like the Thirteen Court Guard Squads where you reported to your division every day without fail and simultaneously lived within it, and yet clearly they had some kind of responsibilities to uphold within a guild. However that didn't necessarily imply that everyone entered the guildhall every day, especially considering that perhaps they were out of town for some reason or other. Needless to say he was curious as to what the dragon slayer traditionally did day by day.

"What we usually do, eat breakfast and then head over to the guild!" Natsu replied in a cheerful manner.

"Gotcha." Ichigo replied, sweatdropping slightly.

'_I wasn't really expecting such an obvious answer…_' Ichigo thought.

_**Magnolia: Fairy Tail Guildhall, Some Time Later…**_

"What's up everyone?!" Natsu exclaimed, yet again kicking the door open in what had become known to the substitute as his traditional entrance.

"Mornin' Natsu." Several greeted, most others choosing to just look over to the door and nod so as to acknowledge his presence.

"Do you always have to kick the door open?" Ichigo asked as the two walked into the guild.

"But it's so cool…" Natsu replied, lightly whining in an attempt to defend his position that it was an awesome entrance.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

The trio then walked towards the bar, as per Natsu's suggestion given that a certain white-haired girl had offered to teach Ichigo the basics of job requests. It wasn't that the dragon slayer wasn't capable of explaining how job's worked, he just felt that Mirajane would probably be able to do it better.

"Good morning you two." Mira greeted cheerfully, bearing her usual bright smile.

"Hey Mirajane, morning." Ichigo replied.

"So how was it at Natsu's house?" Mira inquired, a bit of humor in her voice given that she could somewhat predict the first thing the orange-haired teen would say.

"His house was really, really dirty… at first. It wasn't bad at all after I cleaned it." Ichigo replied.

"Thanks for that by the way." Natsu said, genuine appreciation in his voice.

"How bad was it? Were there actual fumes coming out of it?" Mirajane asked in a joking manner, however she could very easily see this being true.

"It wasn't that bad." Natsu said defensively.

"It was pretty bad… but no, not that bad." Ichigo stated.

"Anyway, were you two in a hurry to get here this morning?" Mirajane asked, sounding somewhat curious.

"No, why do you ask?" Ichigo inquired. He didn't really see a particular reason to suspect they had been rushing this morning, which made the barmaid's question all the more surprising.

"It's just that you're wearing the same thing you did yesterday so I thought maybe you were in a rush and didn't change." Mirajane explained.

Even she and many others changed into a fresh version of their current clothing pretty much every day. With Natsu this was always possible, but he never really wore any significant clothing so it wasn't really a valid topic of conversation.

"To be really honest I don't have other clothes…" Ichigo replied, trying not to belabor the point that he wasn't even a native to this world.

"Oh, silly me, sorry I said that. I don't know how I forgot about your situation." Mirajane said in a somewhat embarrassed manner.

Mentally the former Fairy Tail mage berated herself for her simple slip of the tongue. It was so obvious that since he according to him he had never stepped foot in this land before today, which would mean that naturally he wouldn't have daily necessities. She just hoped that her question didn't imply that she didn't believe his claims, because in truth she did.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure you just forgot about my situation or something like that. But I would be grateful if you could explain how job requests work around here, because I need to go on one as soon as I can to get some money for… well, you can guess." Ichigo said, chuckling slightly as he finished.

"Of course, follow me please." Mirajane replied happily.

The white-haired barmaid lead the way towards the request board, which currently sat in place with no wizards currently around it. In truth most of the guild had yet to arrive, but it was fairly early in the morning so it wasn't entirely ridiculous to assume that many hadn't yet arrived.

Natsu almost immediately began to look at the various pieces of papers attached to the board, accompanied by Happy. However, Ichigo just stood in silence, waiting for his technical guide to fill him in on how this all worked.

"This right here is called the request board, and it's basically just what it sounds like. Many different organizations put in requests to our guild and we put down the basic information on these pieces of paper. Any member of the guild can feel free to take any job they like, provided they think they can handle it, of course." Mirajane explained.

"So essentially I can just take any one of the jobs I want?" Ichigo asked, wanting to ensure that he grasped the core concept.

In truth he was only asking said question because he wanted to be completely sure that no paperwork was involved. The sheer amount of complaining that Rangiku did about her own and the amount her captain did about her not doing it only gave him the implication that organizations like the Thirteen Court Guard Squads were often much more complicated than they appeared on the surface.

"Yes, that's the gist of it. On the flyers you can find out the reward, who the employer is, obviously what the job is, and the location or locations you need to go in order to complete the request. You do need to tell myself or Master Makarov when you go on and complete a job though, just because we like to keep records on who does what. Also in some cases we need to inform the employers that you will be taking the job." Mirajane replied.

"Alright then, thanks for explaining all that." Ichigo said with a small smile, eliciting a slightly bashful nod from the white-haired teen.

"Glad to help." Mira said before walking off.

'_Alright… now I assume it takes time to figure out what job I should go on, so I guess I'll…_' Ichigo thought, only to stop upon his pink-haired friend speaking.

"Got it!" Natsu exclaimed, tearing off one of the many pieces of paper that lined the request board.

"That was quick…" Ichigo said with a deadpanned expression. Very clearly his previous thoughts on the complexity of choosing a job were very misplaced.

"Well I kidna had my eye on this job since yesterday… I just really needed to find it." Natsu replied, shrugging slightly as he finished.

"So what's the job?" Ichigo asked out of curiosity.

"I can explain that later, but I need Lucy for it, which is why I am about to go see her." Natsu replied.

"Natsu! We should take Ichigo with us so Lucy doesn't bully me." Happy said, tugging on the dragon slayer's shorts.

The words of the blue-furred cat made both Ichigo and Natsu chuckle, the latter doing so because the Exceed always amused him and the former because the antics of the feline were starting to grow on him. It was almost as if he was in the presence of a non-perverted version of Keigo. Well, it was also entirely possible that Happy was ever so slightly more intelligent.

"Waddaya say Ichigo, feel like coming with us?" Natsu offered in a friendly manner.

"I guess I don't have a problem with that. Just let me pick out a job first and then we can get going." Ichigo replied.

"Nah, just pick one with a decent reward and you'll be fine. I can give you the directions and everything." Natsu stated confidently.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Ichigo mused, obviously not seeing the logic in picking out a job without knowing the conditions or the description thereof.

"It's your choice…" Natsu said with a shrug.

Ichigo turned to face the request board once more, though when he did something definitely seemed off. He glanced behind his shoulder, only to see both Natsu and Happy hovering over him with curious eyes and blank looks, however very clearly they had a reason behind their collective action.

"Are you just going to do that until I pick a job?" Ichigo asked, guessing that this was the reason for what they were doing.

"Aye!" The two replied simultaneously.

The orange-haired substitute released a tired sigh, after which he just turned back to the request board, snatched a job off the wall, and then turned around to speak to his latest friends once again.

"Let's go." Ichigo simply said.

"Follow me!" Natsu said, cheering slightly as he turned and headed towards the guild's doors.

Immediately after they left, the elderly mage who claimed the tittle of Fairy Tail's master waked over to the request board with a curious expression etched on his face and a lone finger tapping his chin in thought.

"Now I wonder what job Ichigo decided to take…" Makarov thought aloud.

He knew perfectly well which Natsu had taken, mostly due to the fact that the dragon slayer had gone through the request board the previous day and seemed intent on taking a particular job. In fact, had he not been sidetracked by finding Macao he would likely have gone on it the previous day.

'_Now that leaves Ichigo… given what's been taken already, it's pretty easy to tell that he took…_' Makarov thought, only for his eyes to widen slightly as he realized exactly which task the orange-haired teen had decided on.

"Gehehehehe… so it's _that_ job… good thing he snagged it too, it'd only been up for about half an hour. Talk about a last minute request though…" Makarov said, giggling perversely at the recollection of the request's description.

The elderly mage was broken out of his less than decent thoughts by none other than the barmaid that always smiled so warmly, who walked up to the master and made to speak.

"Goodbye master, I'm off to the Sorcerer's Weekly Magazine shoot." Mirajane said, giving her farewell and simultaneously informing said mage of her whereabouts just in case he were to forget what she had scheduled today.

Makarov didn't seem to acknowledge the girl's words, instead merely choosing to give a slight wave so as to say goodbye. A childish grin was currently etched on his face, and he couldn't help but release a slight chuckle given that he understood the situation perfectly. He didn't know whether to be proud of the orange-haired teen or envious. Still, it didn't quite matter and upon the barmaid exiting the doors of the guild, the master chose to speak.

"Goodbye Mira… say hello to Ichigo for me." Makarov said to himself, immediately after which he erupted into a torrent of laughter for reasons known only to him.

_**Magnolia: Lucy's Apartment, Some Time Later…**_

The blonde celestial spirit mage sat at the desk of her new apartment with a bright smile on her face. It was possible on of the best buys she could have hoped for, and she couldn't happier with how the place looked. She currently only wore a towel around her body, which may have seemed odd to anyone who was would be able to see her but given that she was within the comfort of her own home and currently had the desire to write her mother, she figured it wasn't an issue.

Lucy turned back to the letter she had written thus far to her mother, preparing to add more to it in favor of being distracted by how much she loved her new apartment.

'_Dear Mom, I made it to Magnolia just like I hoped I would. Oh, and I became a member of Fairy Tail! Everyone seems so nice at the guild, and I've met so many interesting people.'_ Lucy thought, reciting what she had written down.

She paused, briefly, deciding on what more she should write. There were already quite a few things she could tell her mother about, and even though she had only been in the city for a day it was already difficult to choose what to talk about next.

'_There's this one guy especially, Natsu… he's a dragon slayer, and he is a bit weird, but he has a big heart, and an annoying blue cat. I also met this other guy from a different dimension… no, seriously, he is! He randomly appeared out of thin air, practically, and even though I feel bad for him I can't help but be interested in what his world is like. He and Natsu are definitely the people I can say I'm closest to right now, but I have a feeling I'll get along with the rest of the guild just fine… provided they aren't all as insane as I initially thought, of course._' Lucy wrote.

"Aaah… I just love this place." Lucy squealed girlishly, rather grateful that not a soul could likely hear her.

The blonde-haired mage stretched her limbs before getting up from the desk, placing her practically finished letter within the drawer before she began walking off. Her face was marked by a large smile as she walked through the halls of her new home, completely incapable of forming a frown at this point in time.

Everything about her place was so phenomenal, the fire place, the location, the price, and even the proximity to Fairy Tail. All of these things were, indeed, great, but nothing could compare to the bedroom.

Immediately after stepping into the bedroom, however, she was greeted with the unfortunate sight of a very evident mess, the source of which was clearly the two individuals who sat in the chair by her table, or on it in the case of a certain cat.

Before her very eyes, Natsu and Happy sat as if nothing was out of the ordinary, snacking on various foods, within the confines of her own bedroom.

"W-wha…" Lucy stuttered out, a shocked expression on her face.

"Oh, hey." Natsu greeted with a small smile, however his words had the unfortunate consequence of breaking the blonde out of her stupor. She then began to growl, her body lightly shaking so as to illustrate her rage.

"Get the heck out of here ya jerks!" Lucy exclaimed, kicking the dragon slayer directly in his face and subsequently sending him across the room. Ironically enough the dragon slayer's feline companion was also hit by his body, successfully injuring him as well.

Natsu landed on his side, a stark contrast to what had happened the very same morning with his orange-haired comrade. Well, at least there was no bucket this time. For Happy, however, this was the first time today, thus far, that he had been injured. But that was to be expected when he was in the company of Lucy.

"Why'd you do that? We just came over to check out your new pad." Natsu said, rubbing his cheek slightly.

"Oh yeah?! What you call checking out I call barging in!" Lucy exclaimed angrily, a tick mark popping out of her temple as she spoke.

'_So scary…_' Happy thought. He only wished Ichigo had gone in with them, maybe then he could have stopped the blonde from her feline bullying habits.

"And I'm sure the police would call it breaking and entering." Lucy continued, glaring at the duo.

"Oh come on, don't be like that…" Natsu said in what was his best attempt at a soothing voice.

"This is a serious invasion of my privacy." Lucy grumbled.

Before the blonde could continue her pseudo-rant on how her latest friends had broken into her new home, a knock on the door seemingly pacified her.

"Who could that be?" Lucy wondered aloud.

"It's probably Ichigo." Natsu mused, the substitute being the only person he could think of.

"Why would it be him?" Lucy asked, turning to the dragon slayer and quirking a curious brow.

"We can talk about that later! Now quickly Lucy, let him in so he can protect me!" Happy exclaimed.

The blonde-haired mage just released a sigh of annoyance before walking toward the door and opening it, quickly shifting her expression to one that didn't suggest she was enraged so as to greet the one friend she currently had in the city that _hadn't _broken into her home.

"Oh, hey Ichigo. Come on in." Lucy greeted in a friendly manner.

"Why does he get that kind of greeting and we get pummeled?!" Natsu exclaimed, possessing but restraining the desire the flip the nearest table.

"Because he didn't break in!" Lucy shouted as the two entered the bedroom.

"See, I told you she wasn't okay with it." Ichigo stated, unable to hide the satisfied tone in his voice at his being correct.

The substitute began to look around the room, having gotten a decent look of the outside while he was waiting. In fact the only reason he had been out there so long was that Lucy didn't seem to notice they had entered very quickly. It had been a good ten or so minutes before he heard her screams of annoyance.

"Nice place you've g…" Ichigo said, only pausing as he noticed what the celestial mage was wearing, or rather a distinct lack of clothing.

"Um… are you okay?" Lucy asked, noticing a tinge of red creep onto the substitute's cheeks.

"Why are you only wearing a towel?!" Ichigo exclaimed, averting his eyes so as to properly sidestep his increasing blush.

"W-wha? It's my home!" Lucy said defensively, a large amount of blush coming onto her cheeks as well.

"Anyway, I'm not the one who needs to explain things, tell me why you two are here!" Lucy demanded, though it was more so that she could change the subject.

"Relax, we're all friends, right?" Natsu mused as he shifted through a large collection of paper.

The blonde-haired wizard turned as if to say something to the resident dragon slayer, but she stopped immediately after seeing what he had in his hands. Without even a second thought, she ran up to him and kicked him once again, after which she grabbed the large stack of papers and ran over to the opposite side of the room, holding them tightly against her breasts.

"Are those papers so valuable that you had to do that?" Natsu asked, rubbing his head to alleviate the minor amount of pain he currently felt.

"It's nothing!" Lucy immediately shouted.

"So you'd kick me over nothing?" Natsu asked confusedly.

"Yeah, maybe I would. Can you just go home now?!" Lucy asked.

"Buy why? Your place is so much more exciting." Natsu replied.

"I hate boys…" Lucy whined.

"What about cats?" Happy asked.

"I hate you more!" Lucy growled.

"Eeep, hide me Ichigo!" Happy exclaimed, summoning his wings and hiding behind the orange-haired teen's shoulder. A lone eyeball peaked out from the side of the substitute's body, which allowed the feline to see, very clearly, the glare Lucy now sported.

"Can we just calm down? Natsu, you said you wanted Lucy for a job, right?" Ichigo said, the mild seriousness of the situation putting the blonde's lack of clothing to the back of his mind.

"Oh yeah…" Natsu trailed off, sounding as if he had forgotten.

Ichigo just looked at the pink-haired mage with a deadpanned expression while Lucy, on the other hand, looked at him with one of surprise, as if she hadn't expected such an offer out of the blue.

"Me?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, but maybe you wanna get dressed before we talk about it?" Natsu mused, knowing full well the blonde couldn't do the job dressed in a towel.

Lucy blushed slightly, after which she nodded her head and walked off towards the bathroom, where everyone just assumed she had the clothes she intended to wear.

_**Lucy's Apartment: Common Area, Some Time Later…**_

The group sat at the main table of the common area with different respective expressions. Ichigo's being neutral, Natsu's being on of curiosity as he was still looking around the room, Happy's being one similar to his namesake, and Lucy's being one of annoyance for obvious reasons.

"Anyway, like I was saying before, this place is really nice." Ichigo complimented, looking around the room as he spoke.

"Thanks, can you believe I got it for only 70,000 Jewel a month?" Lucy asked, though her question didn't achieve the intended result.

"How would I know if that's a good deal? Remember, not from here and all that…" Ichigo reminded, though it was continuously becoming tedious.

"Trust me, it's a good deal." Lucy stated confidently.

"It needs more fish…" Happy trailed off, an expression of thought etched on his face as if he was deliberately trying to find the flaws of the blonde's home.

"Listen, if you were just joking about the job request I'd prefer you just leave. I'm not really in the mood for visitors at the moment." Lucy said in a warning fashion.

"Talk about cold-hearted…" Natsu mumbled.

"I've met worse…" Ichigo thought aloud.

"Ice cold." Happy commented in his usual tone of voice.

"Watch it cat." Lucy warned.

"But do you really have something better to do than hear us out right now?" Natsu asked, believing the blonde did not.

"Actually yes, I was about to make my contract with another celestial spirit." Lucy said with a small smirk, believing that she had disproved the dragon slayer's notion that she had nothing better to do.

"Whoa, really?" Natsu asked in an excited tone, only feeding the ego of the celestial mage with his words.

"Yes, actually." Lucy replied.

"Wait, how does that work exactly?" Ichigo asked.

"I summon the spirits and work out the details of their service. It's how all celestial wizards determine when and where they can summon their spirits." Lucy explained with a smile. Very clearly the blonde loved to explain her powers.

"So how many of these spirits do you have contracts with?" Happy inquired.

"Six so far. Not to brag or anything but I've got a couple different types of them. The silver keys are the ones you can find in a magic shop. I've got Horologium the clock, Cruz the southern cross, and Lyra the Harp. But the gold one's are super rare. There are twelve total, and they open the gates of the zodiac. I've got Taurus the golden bull, Aquarius the water bearer, and the last one is Cancer the giant crab." Lucy explained, however two of her three friends seemed to pick up on a select few words she had uttered.

"Whoa, a giant crab?" Natsu asked, his and Happy's mouth's watering at the thought.

"That's all you picked up on?" Lucy asked in an annoyed tone.

"Anyway, if you need to make the contract I'm sure we can wait." Ichigo offered, not wanting to be an inconvenience.

"Oh, would the three of you like to see how a celestial wizard makes a contract?" Lucy offered with a bright smile.

"I hope it's not some kind of grody blood pact." Happy whispered as he and his best friend huddled with Ichigo.

"I don't know, it sounds like a pain in the ass to me." Natsu commented.

"You know I can hear you, right?" Lucy said.

"Crap, now we're gonna have to watch it. Thanks a lot, Ichigo." Natsu grumbled.

"You wanted to come here, remember?" Ichigo countered, eliciting a grunt from the dragon slayer.

The blonde-haired wizard then got up from her seat and grabbed the key she presumably was going to use in order to form the contract. She held the key out directly in front of her, and then began to speak.

"I call upon thee in the world of the celestial spirits. I beckon you to my side at once, pass through the gate…" Lucy chanted.

She then held the key up, a magic circle forming underneath her feet and magical energy following around her body before she was finally able to finish the summoning.

"Open Gate of Canis Minor, Nikora!" Lucy exclaimed.

Before the eyes of everyone present the spirit appeared. It was a short, stout white creature with bland eyes and a golden horn-like nose that took a similar shape to that of a carrot. He seemed to shake for some reason, but nevertheless he was the spirit that Lucy had called on.

"Awww, you're such a cutie patootie." Lucy said in a voice similar to one that most used when speaking to a dog or a cherished pet. She then began to rock the rather adorable creature back and forth within her arms, her eyes shut and a blissful expression etched onto her face.

"Seriously?" Natsu asked confusedly, his words mirroring the thoughts of his orange-haired comrade. He, however, kept his reaction restrained to a deadpanned expression.

"Well, it doesn't really take a lot of energy to get these guys here from the celestial spirit world, so a lot of wizards just keep them as pets." Lucy explained.

"I guess that makes some sense…" Ichigo said, not seeing any direct flaws with that logic.

They then began to watch as the two started on their contract, which seemed to consist of Lucy asking what days the small white creature was free and said small white creature either nodding or shaking his head.

"This is really boring…" Natsu whispered.

"Umhmm." Happy mumbled in agreement.

'_Just a little bit…_' Ichigo thought, sweatdropping as the blonde-haired mage and the spirit seemed to finish their contract just like that.

"Okay, now I just need to come up with a name." Lucy thought aloud.

"Isn't its name Nikora?" Happy asked.

"I think that's just the type of spirit." Ichigo stated, gathering that much thus far.

"Ichigo's right, Nikora is just the species… wait, I know what to call him!" Lucy said, her tone spiking at her realization of what to name the spirit.

The blonde then gestured her arms towards the adorable white spirit with a bright smile on her face, almost as if she was calling it without so much as saying a single word.

"Come here Plue!" Lucy said in the very same voice she had used prior when addressing the pet-like spirit.

"Plue huh? Natsu and Happy wondered aloud.

"What, I think it's the cutest name ever." Lucy said, hugging the spirit as she did so.

"I don't see a problem with it… anyway, you did say you wanted to talk to her about a job, right?" Ichigo mused, finally able to get back on track given that the only item on the female mage's agenda had been dealt with.

"Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me… again. Actually I've got a copy of it right here." Natsu stated, after which he handed the piece of paper off to his blonde-haired comrade.

"So you were serious?" Lucy asked in a surprised voice as she took the piece of paper.

In fact she was so taken back by the apparent truth of the dragon slayer's words that she failed to see the mischievous glint in Natsu's eyes. At the moment she happened to be more engulfed by the fact that someone as strong as Natsu had asked for her help in the first place.

'_Something tells me this isn't going to turn out well for her…_' Ichigo thought. He chose not to say anything, mostly because he was positive it was harmless fun in the long run, but still he could tell.

"It's in Shiratsume… Oh wow! We get 200,000 Jewel, and all for getting a book back from some guy named Duke Everlue?!" Lucy exclaimed, the sheer amount of the reward surprising her given that the task seemed so simple.

"So you up for it?" Natsu asked with a toothy grin.

"Where do I sign up?" Lucy asked rhetorically.

"Alright, then it's settled, you're definitely a part of our team!" Natsu happily stated, somewhat to the confusion of the blonde-haired mage.

"Team?" Ichigo and Lucy asked in unison.

"Aye! Even though everyone in the guild is allied to one another, some members that get along real well form teams within the guild. That way jobs that may be too hard for one person to take can get done by a team!" Happy explained.

"Awesome!" Lucy cheered, seemingly excited by the concept.

"That's the spirit." Natsu said, bringing up a fist and smiling wholeheartedly at his latest team member.

"What about Ichigo, is he coming with us?" Lucy asked, noticing that the orange-haired teen had been somewhat quiet since he got here.

"I actually thought he should take his first job on his own, mainly cuz' he doesn't know too much about this place so it would be a good experience." Natsu explained.

"I took a job from the request board before we left the guild. Sadly I don't really know what the job is because _someone_ wanted to get here as soon as possible." Ichigo stated, glaring slightly at the pink-haired dragon slayer as he finished.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

"Wait, you don't know what job you took?" Lucy asked in a surprised voice, eliciting a shake of the head from her orange-haired friend.

"I've got the paper, but I haven't looked at it yet. All I know is that the job is around 400,000 Jewel I think." Ichigo said.

"Whoa, that much?! What kind of a job is this?" Lucy inquired, seemingly astonished.

A moment later he reached into his pocket and pulled out the request, after which he handed it over to the curious celestial mage who seemed to want a look at it. She carefully unfolded the paper shortly thereafter and, upon doing so, began to read.

When it became apparent that Lucy had finished reading the job request, her mouth hung open and an expression of disbelief became etched on her features. This, in turn, confused everyone else present given that none of them knew what could bring about such a reaction, especially if it was due to the job Ichigo was taking on.

'_What's with that look?_' Ichigo wondered.

A moment later yet another expression, equally as confusing, replaced the one of amazement. The blonde was now sternly glaring at Ichigo with a small frown, almost as if she was insulted in some manner.

"After giving me crap for wearing a towel in my own home you have the nerve to do a job like this?" Lucy asked in an annoyed tone, causing the substitute to blink in a confused manner.

"Huh?" Natsu muttered, sounding completely lost.

"I don't know what's worse, the fact that Ichigo turned out to be a massive perv or the fact that he is being paid so much to be one." Lucy thought aloud.

"W-what?" The three stuttered in unison.

Happy almost immediately grabbed the paper out of Lucy's hands, after which he brought it over to Natsu and the two started to read it in unison. Ironically it seemed that the one who was actually taking on the job request would be the last to find out what it entailed.

As opposed to simply taking back the piece of paper and finding out for himself, Ichigo allowed the pink-haired teen to read it for himself. After this had apparently been done, Natsu's expression mirrored that of Lucy's just a few minutes prior, but Happy still kept his usual appearance for some reason or other.

Ichigo subsequently grabbed the job request and read it for himself, shortly after which his eyes nearly shot out of his head.

"Dammit…" Ichigo grumbled, a blush creeping its way onto his cheeks.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Lucy asked as if she were scolding him.

"In his defense, I did kinda make him take a random job. Plus I don't think Ichigo is the type of guy to take this kind of request… its more up the master's alley." Natsu stated sheepishly, though he did raise a good point.

At the very least the celestial mage also appeared to believe that this was the case, otherwise she would have continued on with her rant. However, she then tapped her chin in thought, as if considering the words of the dragon slayer.

"Fair point… but that still doesn't change the fact that he is still basically a security guard with a front and center seat to watching bikini-clad models in a photo shoot!" Lucy countered.

"Not 'basically', I am one… of all the requests I could have taken, why'd it have to be this one?" Ichigo said in a defeated tone.

"At least you're not overjoyed about it… and since taking this job would make you look like a perv I could see why you wouldn't want it." Lucy conceded, giving a skeptical look at the orange-haired teen.

"Meh, we won't think any less of ya, right buddy?" Natsu chirped, looking to his feline companion for support.

"Aye! Ichigo is too awesome to hate!" Happy said in agreement.

"So you think I should do it anyway?" Ichigo asked with a quirked brow, genuinely curious given that he himself was at odds with what to do.

One option was to simply ignore the request, but that would probably just backfire in some way. Another would be to take it back to the guild, which was feasible but very much so impractical and tended to send a bad message. On the other hand, if anyone in the guild found out about it, his stay in this dimension would be much less pleasant for the foreseeable future. He always did value his reputation, after all.

"I don't see why you shouldn't…" Natsu trailed off, tapping on his chin in thought.

"Well, the request is set for a few hours from now, which means even if you took it back to the guild I doubt anyone would be able to take it." Lucy added, almost reluctantly. This was likely due to the fact that she didn't necessarily approve of the job itself, but even so she had to acknowledge which decision was better.

"Well that settles that. I still need directions to the place, Natsu." Ichigo stated. A little part of his did want them to talk him out of it, but still a commitment was a commitment no matter what, so he supposed honoring it was the best decision.

"Oh, that's easy, you just…" Natsu began.

_**Fiore: Outside the Sorcerer's Weekly Studio's **_

"Wow, for someone who has such a horrible memory Natsu can give good directions… who knew." Ichigo thought aloud.

The orange-haired teen had to take a train to another town over, but even so the dragon slayer was able to tell him step by step, literally, of what to do when he got off. In fact, Natsu had even lent him the money to travel to the city.

'_Guess I'd better head on in…_' Ichigo thought.

A moment later he waked up the entrance, at which point he was greeted by a man who seemed to have been standing outside for quite some time. There wasn't really anything distinguishing about his looks, his eyes being brown and his hair of the same color. His uniform, however, was a bright blue security guard outfit, or at least what appeared to be the equivalent of this world.

"Sorry sir, there aren't any tours going on today due to a model shoot. You'll have to come back another time." The man said as the teen approached.

"You've got it wrong. I'm here in response to the request put out to Fairy Tail." Ichigo stated.

A moment later he presented the guard with the paper he had taken from the request board. The man seemed to go over it briefly, likely to ensure that it wasn't a fake, after which he looked at the teen once more.

It appeared that he was going to say something, but evidently Ichigo was one step ahead of him as his sleeve was already rolled up and the crimson tattoo on his left arm was showing proudly.

"Well, I guess you're legitimate…" The guard said with a small chuckle, after which he handed back the paper.

"You'll need to go to the director's office. Once you enter the building just head straight down the first hall you see and then follow the signs from there. You can't miss it." He continued.

Ichigo nodded as a sign that he understood, after which he followed the guard's instructions and made his way into the building and launched head on towards completing his first quest as a Fairy Tail guild member.

**A/N Okay, so once again the next chapter will be posted on Monday. Also, for the record, the reason I cut this chapter off here is because the next chapter will be rather lengthy, so I didn't want to make this like a 20k chapter after having started the chapter of the actual quest, that wouldn't really make any sense… anyway, now onto the usual stuff. **

_**Explanations**_:

**Ichigo's Job**: I really, really, really, didn't want to have him go to the Everlue thing since that would have been slow and rather boring to write as well as to read, at least in my opinion… so I came up with something creative that serves to fill the void in a more exiting way and also help with a bit of character development, which many of you will likely see as of the next chapter.

**Last Chapter**: Okay, so I will add this in because a I feel it needs to be said for those who didn't quite get why I had the last chapter turn out the way it did. The lack of action was entirely intentional, and the reason for that is simply because I have it spaced out a certain way that forces a chapter every once and a while to be used as more of a creative way for character development. Last chapter is an example of that, and there aren't too many of them that I believe I will be forced to write. Either way, they are needed to give the story a better flow in the long run, so just trust my judgment with this one…

_**Reviews**_:

**Ghost132**: Erza will officially show up three chapters from now… I think. She will be mentioned two chapters from now, definitively, and then officially make her return under the circumstances she normally does.

**HollowsFTW**: The full hollow form he had when he fought with Ulquiorra will… possibly make an appearance :P.

**Dp11**: Not necessarily. There will be a few fights that are somewhat of a challenge for Ichigo before that point. I only say this because that arc in particular is quite a ways away, as you could imagine.

**megaslayer321a**: Unfortunately he will not be gaining any Quincy powers whatsoever in this story. There will be some conflict brought up as to what exactly is the source of his powers, but that is all. Hopefully it will be understood as to why I have it that way when the story is done and what I intend to do for the sequel comes to light.

**99 luffy**: Nope, I don't have any plans to have that happen. The reason will make sense eventually, but rest assured there is a reason for this.

**Mr. unknow**: Hmm… that question is very good but very difficult to answer, and I am sad to say that at the moment I can't xD.

**Hotstreak's crossover stories**: Yes, I will be doing that arc. As for your other question, no, Makarov doesn't see a hidden power or anything, he just sees his power for what it is, meaning he knows that it isn't magical energy and recognizes its raw strength and potency. Hope this cleared that up!

**Cloud Narukami**: Can't answer that question :P

**Antex-The Legendary Zoroark**: Yes, yes he will.

**KO**: Near future, not really, in the future, yes. Also, no, I don't plan on having any of the Espada show up, and even if I did the only ones that are currently alive are Halibel and Grimmjow.


	7. Model Misbehavior

**A/N Juts wanted to say that Nel is alive, yes, but I don't really count her as an Espada… anyway, as promised, here is the next chapter! The next one will be posted next Monday since I have a few things to take care of this week, but this chapter is also kind of long so it makes up for it… I hope :))**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 7 **

_**Fiore: Outside the Sorcerer's Weekly Studio's **_

"Wow, for someone who has such a horrible memory Natsu can give good directions… who knew." Ichigo thought aloud.

The orange-haired teen had to take a train to another town over, but even so the dragon slayer was able to tell him step by step, literally, of what to do when he got off. In fact, Natsu had even lent him the money to travel to the city.

'_Guess I'd better head on in…_' Ichigo thought.

A moment later he waked up the entrance, at which point he was greeted by a man who seemed to have been standing outside for quite some time. There wasn't really anything distinguishing about his looks, his eyes being brown and his hair of the same color. His uniform, however, was a bright blue security guard outfit, or at least what appeared to be the equivalent of this world.

"Sorry sir, there aren't any tours going on today due to a model shoot. You'll have to come back another time." The man said as the teen approached.

"You've got it wrong. I'm here in response to the request put out to Fairy Tail." Ichigo stated.

A moment later he presented the guard with the paper he had taken from the request board. The man seemed to go over it briefly, likely to ensure that it wasn't a fake, after which he looked at the teen once more.

It appeared that he was going to say something, but evidently Ichigo was one step ahead of him as his sleeve was already rolled up and the crimson tattoo on his left arm was showing proudly.

"Well, I guess you're legitimate…" The guard said with a small chuckle, after which he handed back the paper.

"You'll need to go to the director's office. Once you enter the building just head straight down the first hall you see and then follow the signs from there. You can't miss it." He continued.

Ichigo nodded as a sign that he understood, after which he followed the guard's instructions and made his way into the building and launched head on towards completing his first quest as a Fairy Tail guild member.

_**Sorcerer's Weekly Studio's: Outside the Director's Office **_

'_I guess this is the place…_' Ichigo thought as he walked up to a seemingly large office with the label of 'director'. He may be from another world, but some things were just universally understandable.

Without further delay he brought up a hand and knocked on the door, doing so with enough force that whoever was currently inside would definitely be able to hear him.

"Who is it? I'm meditating right now." A booming voice called out.

"I'm here in response to the request you put out to Fairy Tail." Ichigo stated.

"Why didn't you just say so? Come on in my boy!" The voice exclaimed cheerfully.

Taking that as clear permission to enter, Ichigo did so, opening the door and stepping into the presence of the assumed director but a second later.

When he was finally within the confines of the room, Ichigo took note of the elaborate decorations. Many, many photos of models were framed and put up on each wall, the poses in some of which caused him to blush a decent amount. His eyes were then brought towards the desk, at which point he got a good look at who his technical employer would be.

In the chair sat a rather short man, likely the same height as Makarov, with a clear face, devoid of facial hair, brown eyes, and spikey brown hair that reached the middle portion of his upper back. He seemed like he was in his mid-thirties at most, but more so than that he gave off an artistic vibe, the type you would expect from someone who decorated his office with so many photos and artsy materials.

"Splendid! But may I ask that you present the paper. I can't be too careful, now can I?" The man requested cheerfully.

Ichigo presented the paper, immediately after which the man took it in his hands, gave a quick glance over it, handed it back, and then smiled in a friendly manner. Shockingly he didn't even ask for his guild mark as clarification, but perhaps he just had some way of knowing that only a Fairy Tail wizard would have that piece of paper.

"My name is Shoji Atsushi, director extraordinaire." The man greeted in a friendly manner, extending his hand to gesture his fresh employee to do the same.

"Ichigo Kurosaki." Ichigo said, taking the man's hand and shaking it firmly.

"You have my thanks for answering the request so quickly. It was last minute and we are in dire need of the extra assistance." Shoji stated.

"No problem, just glad I can help." Ichigo replied.

"That's the spirit! Now follow me, young Kurosaki, I wish to introduce you to my models." Shoji proclaimed, pointing a finger to the door in an overdramatic fashion.

Before the substitute could even say a single word, the eccentric man jumped over his desk and began to run down the halls, his hands extended outwards as if he were an aerial vehicle and a serious expression present on his face. Though Ichigo was outrageously confused, he followed suit, only he found jogging to be sufficient as the size of his legs gave him an already significant advantage in terms of movement.

_**Sorcerer's Weekly Studio's: Photography Area **_

Ichigo walked through a door with a confused expression on his face, not entirely being sure if the man had actually entered this particular room. Most of the doorways looked exactly the same, and when rounding the hallway it was always difficult to tell where the short man had actually gone.

He sighed out of relief upon seeing that the director was standing proudly at the center of the room, choosing to place himself directly next to a device that seemed to mirror a camera in many ways. At the very least it was used for the purpose of taking pictures, that much was obvious.

"Splendid my boy! You were able to follow me without getting lost, a feat that the last security guard was incapable of matching." Shoji remarked proudly.

"Yeah, sure thing…" Ichigo trailed off, obviously not completely enjoying the director's eccentricities.

At this point he was able to get a good look at the room itself, whereas previously he had been looking around strictly for the purposes of finding his technical boss. The area was very reminiscent of what he pictured a model's photography studio to be like from his world, however as opposed to green-screens, or whatever it was that they were called, an actual beach scene, sand and all, was laid out directly in front of the camera.

'_I wonder if they brought that here or if it has something to do with magic?_' Ichigo wondered.

"Admiring the studios my young friend?" Shoji asked with a proud smirk, the basics of the studio being his own personal design.

"Yeah, it's really nice." Ichigo said, sounding rather genuine.

His words made the man beam as if those words had sent him soaring. Very clearly this man was an artist to his core, always appreciating it when people complimented his personal brand of 'genius'.

"Enough of your praise, girls please come out and meet our new security guard!" Shoji stated.

The director then gestured a hand towards a door off to the side of the studio, evidently to guide the young teen's vision. When his eyes landed on what the man presumably wanted him to see, he took note that it was a simple door labeled as a changing room.

"Oh, is he here already?" A feminine voice called out from within the room.

"Yes my dear, feel free to mingle until the session begins." Shoji said graciously.

"Do you really have to speak so loudly?" A soft voice called out, the owner of which seemed to enter the room a moment later.

Out of the door stepped a girl who appeared to be no older than eighteen. She had peach-colored skin, straight lengthy blue hair that reached the middle of her back, light green eyes, and currently wore a blue bikini, quite possibly because it was the exact same shade and color as her hair. When she caught sight of the orange-haired teen, she smiled in a friendly manner and introduced herself.

"My name's Shelly Rivers, nice to meet you." She said.

"Shelly, I told you wait for us!" A voice exclaimed childishly.

A moment later two more women came out of the room, however they were slowly running as opposed to their predecessor. Each appeared to be the same age as their companion and had the same color skin, but that was where the resemblances ended.

One of the girls had long slightly curly, black hair around the same length as Shelly's that also slightly covered her left eye. She had a set of crimson eyes that appeared to sparkle in the light of the studio, and wore a pitch-black bikini, which was once again keeping in line with the trend of the swimwear matching her hair in almost every way.

The other had luscious light-red hair that only reached her shoulders, onyx-colored eyes, and a black tattoo of what could only be assumed as some guild etched on her lower left hip. She also wore a red bikini, once again being the exact same shade as her hair.

"Hey there, my name's Carla Simons." The redhead greeted.

"And I'm Macy Katase." The black-haired girl added.

"Nice to meet you all, I'm…" Ichigo began, only to be cut off.

The manager placed a hand directly in front of his face from atop a director's chair that seemed to appear out of thin air. Though this didn't really make any sense to Ichigo, the intent for him to stop speaking was quite clear.

"Not just yet my boy, we are short a model." Shoji stated with a chuckle.

"Just a sec…" A sweet, feminine voice remarked.

"Do not fret my dear!" Shoji said reassuringly.

Hearing the voice of the last model, however, struck a chord in Ichigo's memory. It seemed extremely familiar, so much so that he couldn't believe he didn't instantly recognize it. However, by the time that he nearly figured out who he knew that voice to be from, said model exited the changing room, a bright smile plastered onto her face.

The woman had white-hair, captivating blue eyes, a brilliant smile, and currently wore a white bikini the very same shade and color as her hair, much the same as the others. As opposed to the others, though, she had a very particular knowledge of who their new security guard was. At the same time, Ichigo knew full well who this girl was, and the fact that he didn't recognize her voice at first still continued to nag on him.

"Hello, I'm…" Mira began, only to stop and gasp upon seeing her guild's latest member present.

"Mirajane?" Ichigo exclaimed, sounding rather surprised.

The director and the remainder of the models present began to look back and forth between the two with confused expressions. It wasn't all too uncommon for people to know who Mirajane was, but the new security guard said the name with such familiarity that they just assumed the two had met before.

"Do you two know each other?" Shelly asked, eliciting a giggle from the white-haired model that had just recently graced their presence.

"You could say that… actually, Ichigo here just recently joined Fairy Tail." Mira explained.

"Oh, so your name is Ichigo?" Macy asked, her tone giving off the impression she was unsure.

"Yeah, my name's Ichigo Kursoaki, nice to meet you all." Ichigo formally greeted, knowing full well that he hadn't gotten the chance to do so yet.

"So this is what you picked for your first assignment?" Mirajane asked in a friendly manner.

"Not exactly what I had intended, but yeah." Ichigo replied, rubbing the back of his head in a slightly bashful manner given the circumstances behind his presence in the studios.

"Awww, you know it's rude for a man to say he doesn't want to be in the presence of pretty ladies like us." Carla pouted, crossing her hands underneath her breasts in a teasing manner.

"N-no, that wasn't what I meant, I just…" Ichigo began.

"You're not even going to apologize? That's just going to make us even sadder." Shelly said, pouting in much the same manner.

"W-what?! I'm sorry, but still I just meant that…" Ichigo said, only to be cut off by the model's collective laughter, save for Mirajane.

"Oh, you're lucky to have this one in your guild Mira, he's just too cute." Macy commented, wiping away a lone tear from her left eye.

"The way he just stumbles over himself is just so adorable." Shelly added.

At these respective comments, Ichigo blushed, which he knew perfectly well would only feed the desire of the girl's to tease him repeatedly. It was a vicious cycle that, in part due to Yoruichi, he never figured out just how to break.

"We really are lucky to be guarded by such a handsome man, aren't we ladies?" Macy mused, caressing the orange-haired teen's face with the back of her hand in a flirtatious manner.

As both she and the others expected, the blush on Ichigo's face deepened, however he simply took it in strides and didn't falter. At the very least no one could say he cowered in fear from feminine charms.

Still, luck appeared to be on his side as just before the rest seemed like they were about to pile on to the redheads advances, the director decided to break up the happy group in favor of taking care of business first.

"That is enough for now girls, please get ready for the photo-shoot! It is almost time to start." Shoji requested in an upbeat manner, chuckling slightly as he could just feel the sense of relief coming off of his latest security guard.

"Awww, I wanted to have some more fun…" Carla pouted lightly, though an elbow to the side courtesy of the raven-haired woman to her left.

"Of course, director Atsushi. We'll get ready to start." Shelly stated.

"Be sure not to let anything bad happen to us. Who knows, maybe we'll thank you afterwards…" Macy cooed as she walked off.

'_Damn, it's like a group of Yoruichi's… but at least they aren't completely naked._' Ichigo thought. The actual concept of there being more than one of her sent a shiver down his spine. It was like thinking of more than one Kenpachi in that it just rubbed him the wrong way, only having more than one of the female former captain would be astronomically worse for him personally.

"Ichigo…" Mira called, breaking him out of his daze.

Upon his train of thought being interrupted, the substitute noticed that Mirajane was the only one of the four who had stayed behind. Despite the strangeness of the situation, it was probably something important or encouraging as he wouldn't expect anything less from the bubbly white-haired girl.

"Hm?" Ichigo mumbled.

"Just to make sure, you're not stalking me or anything, are you?" Mirajane asked jokingly, however it wasn't quite received that way.

"No! Nothing like that, I just picked the job at random." Ichigo stated defensively, clearly having become mildly flustered as a result of the question.

The last thing he wanted to do at the moment was somehow make himself seem creepy or perverted given that these people weren't his friends from the Soul Society or from his world. He had to build up his image, and anything to the contrary would simply label him throughout his stay, and that would just be a pain in the ass.

He calmed down, however, upon hearing the barmaid and occasional model giggling at his evident distress. Though this did mean he was being made fun of, he honestly preferred that to her actually thinking he was a stalker.

'_They were right, he really is adorable. Kind of like Natsu, but a bit more mature… which I think makes it even more hilarious._' Mira thought before getting her laughter under control.

"Haha, laugh it up." Ichigo requested sarcastically, though the slight smile on his face implied it was good-naturedly.

"Good luck on your fist job. Do your best, okay?" Mira said, smiling brightly as she usually did.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Ichigo replied, returning the smile himself.

The white-haired woman turned to head towards the other models, after which Ichigo responded in kind by walking off towards the director, who currently sat in his chair near the device that appeared to be a camera. He, however, stopped upon hearing his name called once more, again not knowing for the reason behind said call.

"Oh, and Ichigo…" Mirajane began, prompting the substitute to turn around once again.

"Yeah Mirajane, what is…" Ichigo said, only to pause as he saw the look the model was giving him.

The white-haired teen was currently looking at him with an innocent expression and a lone finger pressed lightly against her lips. He didn't know exactly why this was the case, but he knew whatever she was about to say was something that would cause his face to light up.

"Don't let anything happen to little ol' me, okay?" Mirajane requested innocently.

"Don't worry, I won't." Ichigo replied honestly, though his cheeks were still tinged red.

She smiled and then began to walk off once more, giggling slightly which told the substitute that his cheeks were likely a decently colored shade of red at the moment. Given how often that had just occurred within the past few minutes, he really started to lose the feeling of what it was like to not have his cheeks so flushed.

"I'm glad they seem to be so fond of you! They didn't get along very well with the last man we hired." Shoji stated.

"Yeah, lucky me." Ichigo said, his words ironically being true for pretty much any other normal man.

"By the way, how long have you known Mrs. Strauss? She is one of my top models, so I am just curious." Shoji asked as he began to fiddle with the picture-taking apparatus.

"Only about a day or so, why do you ask?" Ichigo replied.

The manager looked at him with a knowing smirk and a glint in his eyes, the likes of which he had only ever seen in the eyes of Kisuke whenever he knew something that someone else did not. All the same that particular look unnerved him, and the fact that the director hadn't yet replied to his question was all the more unnerving.

"What?" Ichigo asked warily, not entirely sure if he wanted the answer.

"Oh nothing, nothing at all Ichigo my boy!" Shoji chirped.

"Right…" Ichigo trailed off.

_**With the Models…**_

"Hey Mirajane, you get one in before we start the shoot?" Shelly asked with a mischievous grin, prompting the barmaid to blush.

"You all made it look so fun that I just couldn't resist." Mira replied bashfully.

"I still can't believe you've got him in your guild. Mira, that guy's really hot… hehehe." Shelly stated, giggling girlishly as she finished.

Mira only nodded in response, a slight blush creeping onto her face once again due to the fact that she couldn't necessarily deny the words of her fellow model. If anything the fact that someone as beautiful as her came to a similar conclusion it only supported its truthfulness.

"It sucks that director Shoji wanted to start the photo-shoot, I wanted a bit more fun time." Macy whined, crossing her arms in a manner that could only be described as cute.

"Maybe we still can…" Carla trailed off, a mischievous smirk etched on her face.

If Ichigo were capable of seeing the raven-haired girl's face at the moment, his skin would turn into the color of his inner hollow's. It was even worse than the look Yoruichi would get whenever she was about to force Ichigo's blood pressure to go sky high, which ,needless to say, wasn't a very good thing for the resident substitute.

"What do you have in mind?" Macy asked curiously.

"Hehehe… just follow my lead, 'k?" Carla said before walking off to the center of the stage.

_**With Ichigo…**_

"Alright ladies, time to start the magic!" Shoji exclaimed in an excited manner.

The very first model, the black-haired girl, stepped up front and center a moment later, simply awaiting the signal from the director to start.

Shoji himself operated the camera, or at least the device that seemed like a camera, while Ichigo stood directly behind him and to his left. For obvious reasons the camera needed to be protected, in some cases it was more valuable than lives. Well, the lives of interns, but still lives nonetheless. With a simple thumbs-up from the director, the shooting began.

Carla began to take on poses that most would describe as 'sexy', moaning and groaning, albeit barely, each and every time she took a different position. The director seemed pleased as he took picture after picture, a clear grin etched on his face.

"Wonderful! Show me the magic!" Shoji exclaimed in an encouraging manner.

Ichigo, however, knew something was extremely off. The sound effects were perhaps something that models did when they posed in order to 'get in the zone' or something like that, and he wouldn't know if this was true or not given that he had never really been at a model's photo-shoot before.

At the same time, the fact that the moans were timed whenever she switched positions coupled with the fact that the raven-haired woman was looking directly into his eyes made her intentions very clear. Needless to say, Ichigo's face was currently many different shades of red.

'_These pictures are brilliant! I've never seen Carla so into it before… it's just splendid! It would be perfect if she was looking directly at the camera, but I still don't understand why she isn't…_' Shoji thought.

The director and dually noted photographer's grin turned into a knowing smirk, at which point he released a chuckle, more to himself than anyone else. He knew perfectly well what she was staring at, and he figured it was fine. He was, after all, the one paying for the security to be here, so he figured it was fine to get his money's worth.

"Ichigo, could you stand directly behind me please. I have no idea why I had you stand off to my left…" Shoji stated.

The substitute complied a moment later, though his eyes were glued to the model just so that he could guarantee his suspicion was correct. Just as he thought, the raven-haired girl followed his body with her deep crimson eyes, her movements and moans not stopping all the while.

"That's splendid, simply marvelous Carla!" Shoji cheered.

'_This is hell on earth…_' Ichigo thought, having lost all feeling in his face.

'_This is heaven's beauty at its finest!_' Shoji thought.

_**Some Time Later…**_

The remainder of the photographs were all worse than their predecessors, for Ichigo at least. Shoji on the other hand was of the opposite opinion, they continued to get better. In fact, if he could have the four go again he definitely would have, but time constraints were present, after all.

Worst of all on the poor innocent substitute had been Mira's turn. The barmaid wasn't as bad in terms of teasing him because she, in fact, did so the least out of all the models. She just seemed so innocent that it turned out to be sickeningly cute, as ironic as that was.

When the majority of the photos were complete, steam practically shot out of Ichigo's ears and his face actually felt a little bit numb after it all. It, however, was over now, and he was just glad that was the case.

"Marvelous girls! Now we just need to get the group photo and we'll be…" Shoji began, only to be cut off.

The wall at the far back of the room cracked open rather suddenly, sending a loud boom echoing throughout the room. A large group of men then charged into the studio, each just breathing the aura of a bandit.

"What the hell?" Shelly exclaimed.

"EEEP!" Carla squealed, holding on to her blue-haired friend for dear life at this point.

The men very quickly surrounded the group of models, and the director himself retreated to the set and cowered in practical fear with them. In fact, Ichigo was currently the only one outside of the small huddle and very clearly the only one who intended to do anything to save them. He stood directly in front of them, trying to ensure that nothing would come to harm them if he could help it.

"Well, well, well…" A man's voice came from the large hole.

A man clad in a brown trench coat with a black mohawk and gray eyes stepped in. He was wearing tacky sunglasses, black boots, and wore a series of gold rings on both of his hands. Two other men came up at his flanks, neither really discernable from the rest of the large mass of assumed gangsters that had invade the studio.

"Looks like we hit the jackpot. Four of Fiore's top models boys, they'll fetch a high price." The man commented.

Ichigo instantly scowled and glared at the evident leader of the bandits, the choice of words unnerving him greatly. Actually it didn't unnerve him, it pissed him off.

"Let me guess, you scumbags want to take and then sell these girls?" Ichigo asked in an agitated tone.

"Nobody talks to our boss like that, you bastard!" One of the men roared before charging at the substitute, sword in hand and prepared to slice the teen in half.

Ichigo sidestepped the sword stab and instantly punched the man so hard that he was sent flying into the far end of the room, slamming into the wall.

"Take this!" Another exclaimed, coming up from behind the orange-haired teen and attempting to stab him with a knife.

'_Cheap bastard._' Ichigo thought out of annoyance.

He turned a moment later, positioning himself in such a way that would allow him to take out the clown that tried to attack him with one blow. Sadly, he hadn't counted on the knife grazing his shirt, thus tearing it.

The women and the director looked at him in a worried fashion, but very clearly no blood was spilled, and an instant later the orange-haired teen grabbed the attacker's arm so tightly at it could have cracked bones.

"Do you have any idea how much of a pain in the ass this is?! Now what the hell am I supposed to wear?!" Ichigo exclaimed, a tick mark appearing on his face.

'_Wha?!_' The models and Shoji wondered, their faces morphing to that of extreme surprise.

"W-what?" The man stuttered, sounding as confused as his comrades appeared.

"That's all you have to say?!" Ichigo asked angrily, gesturing a hand towards the extremely torn shirt. His abdomen and part of his chest was showing, allowing his muscles to show off effectively. However, he really didn't need that, what he needed was a shirt and this was currently the only one he had, literally.

Without further delay Ichigo released the bandit from his grip and subsequently kicked him cross the room, a scowl present on his face and his eyes still fixed in a glare. He then turned back to face the man he assumed was the leader, his expression still holding constant.

"Now just who the hell are you clowns?" Ichigo asked in an annoyed tone, obviously his torn shirt not helping his mood.

"You've got a lot of nerve insulting us and then hitting two of my boys, kid." The apparent leader stated, taking off his sunglasses and glaring at the only thing that stood between him and a practical jackpot.

"Just answer my question you circus freak." Ichigo sighed out, clearly not having the time for such nonsense.

"Circus freak?!" The man exclaimed, a tick mark popping out of his forehead.

The models actually began to giggle, and even the director chuckled despite the situation. This, obviously, didn't go over too well with the man who intended to take them captive as he very clearly wanted to be feared as opposed to mocked.

"My name's Ryo Takumi and these here are my boys. You've gone and pissed me off, so it's too bad for you that I can't offer to let you live if you just come quietly." The bandit leader said.

The models gasped at this, knowing full well that by numbers the orange-haired teen and their protector was at a disadvantage. Even if he wasn't able to protect them, the last thing they wanted was to see him get injured or perhaps worse.

"Oh, you're dead now kid…" One of the bandits muttered.

"That's what ya get for pissin' off da boss." Another stated.

"Answer my damn question." Ichigo demanded.

"They are obviously the bandits who are after my precious models! This was expected, so now please protect us. That's what you were hired to do!" Shoji exclaimed fearfully.

Ichigo just gave the man an expression of disbelief, obviously grasping the fact that the director seemed to know this was coming. If that were the case than there were any number of better solutions, each of which were a lot more effective than just hiring a security guard from some random guild.

"Don't give me that look. Why else would the pay be so high for such an easy job?" Shoji countered, eliciting a sigh from the resident substitute.

"So you and your people really are here just to take these girls and sell them off? You're just like that scumbag Bora then…" Ichigo thought aloud.

"Wait boss, I think I remember this kid's looks…" One of the members stated.

"Yeah, he's got orange hair, it has to be him." Another said in agreement.

"Wait, wait, wait… this punk is one of the kids that took out Bora? Give me a break." Ryo said before he broke out into a hysterical fit of laughter.

The members of his gang followed shortly thereafter, but the orange-haired teen himself didn't falter in the slightest.

"Well, if you guys say it's him, I'll take your word for it. Guess that just means we need to get a little payback." Ryo mused.

"Heh, you're welcome to try, scumbag." Ichigo challenged.

Each of the bandits stirred after this, mainly due to the fact that they saw the comment clearly annoyed their boss. In total there were at least thirty-five of them, including the boss. From a brief feel courtesy of his spiritual senses, none of them were particular powerful. That, at least, was good news given that it meant he didn't have to cut into them with his zanpakuto and take any of their lives, his fists would be sufficient for this fight.

"Mirajane, can you watch my body for me while I take care of this?" Ichigo asked, his words greatly confusing most of those around him. In fact, everyone save for the person he was addressing was astronomically lost.

"Sure thing." Mira replied seriously.

An instant later and before anyone could comment on the oddity of the teen's request, Ichigo grabbed the wooden skull badge that dangled from his side, after which something that shocked most present occurred. The apparent body that everyone had suspected the boy to have flew backwards into the hands of the models, who grabbed it despite the fact that they were extremely shocked.

Now, before their very eyes, the same man stood but other than his face and figure everything was different. His clothing had changed, and a sword seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"What the hell kind of magic is this?" One of the thugs wondered aloud.

'_Whoa, never seen anything like that…_' All the models save for Mira thought simultaneously.

"I'll give you all a chance to just give up now and maybe I'll go easy on you." Ichigo stated.

"HAHAHAHAHA! That's funny kid, you going easy on us, what a bad joke! Draw that sword of your quickly while ya still have the chance, otherwise we'll kill ya before you can even reach for it." Ryo boasted.

"You really think I need this sword to beat all of you? Now whose the one making bad jokes?" Ichigo asked, prompting the gray-eyed gang leader to growl.

"Men, take him dow…" Ryo began, only to stop midsentence given an unexpected occurrence.

The man had suspected that his underlings would be the first ones to make a move, and thus he was fairly confident he would at least be able to give the order to go in all at once. However, he hadn't counted on this one kid being fast enough to do something beforehand.

Ichigo rushed directly into a clustered group of five bandits, instantaneously punching or throwing them across the room in separate directions. Shortly thereafter three more subsequently rushed him with swords in an attempt to take him down, but in doing so they sealed their fate.

Yet again the orange-haired teen dodged each of the sword strikes, expertly punching and knocking out each bandit, one at a time, as they tried in vain to strike him. The speed and precision he displayed put the remainder of the group to a standstill, but it was very clear that he himself had no intention of stopping.

"You guys may wanna keep your eyes open!" Ichigo exclaimed, sending a powerful punch directly into the midsection of one of the bandits who had been frozen in the wake of his previous display of strength.

Several began to charge him, using knifes, brass knuckles, swords, and even a mace in the case of one of the larger combatants. It didn't seem to matter, however, as Ichigo easily sidestepped them before punching, kicking, or throwing them so hard that they were almost instantly knocked out.

'_So fast… he can dodge their attacks so easily…_' The models thought in awe.

'_The way he's moving… it's like I'm watching a high level mage, and he isn't even trying all that much…_' Mira thought, her eyes glued to the fight as the orange-haired teen continued to rip into the group of assailants.

Shoji, on the other hand, instantly determined the fight was over shortly after his hired security help had disposed of ten or so of the bandits without breaking so much as a sweat. While the others were captivated by the ongoing fight, a more artistic element beckoned the eccentric director.

Throughout the conflict thus far, the models had been holding rather tightly onto the body of Ichigo Kurosaki, or what he assumed to be his body given that he had absolutely no idea what kind of magic the teen was using. Regardless, a very much so physically attractive teen was currently in the grasp of four of Fiore's top models.

'_This would be a hit with our female viewers…_' Shoji thought, bringing his hands up and making a mock-camera lese as if he were trying to picture what a photograph would look like.

"Director Shoji, what are you doing?" Mira asked confusedly, taking her eyes off of the fight for a brief moment.

"Quiet dear, my muse is speaking to me…" Shoji replied.

"You bastard!" A bandit roared as he charged the teen, foolishly holding no weapons.

Ichigo effortlessly caught the first before countering with a punch to the random underling's jaw, knocking out several teeth and effectively taking him out of the fight. In total there were only eight left, one of which was the leader.

'_Who the hell is this kid?!_' Ryo thought.

To his credit, the bandit leader did a fantastic job of keeping his calm in the face of a sure fire defeat. It was likely just to maintain morale, but perhaps he was also arrogant enough to think he could salvage the situation. His confidence, however, was replaced with pure and simple fear when next the teen addressed him.

"You're next, scumbag." Ichigo stated, his glare firmly directed at the leader of the criminals.

"Retreat boys, we've got to…" Ryo began, making to run away.

He was cut off by his opponent sweeping his legs and instantly sending him off of the ground, after which Ichigo kindly sent him right back to the floor of the studio courtesy of an elbow to the gut. The man gasped for air and his eyes appeared to roll back into his head as if he was out cold. Incidentally that was probably a good thing as an instant later he hit the ground so hard that it actually cracked.

'_This guy's some kind of monster!_' The remaining bandit's thought upon seeing the beaten body of their leader taken down so easily.

"Why don't the rest of you just lie down on the ground and wait for someone to come here and arrest you? It'd save me the time of beating the crap out of you." Ichigo stated, turning and glaring at the remaining members.

The look of fear on their faces told him that they would likely comply, and, a second later, they did. Simultaneously, the remaining seven bandits walked over to the far side of the room, got down on the ground, face first, and decided not to move a muscle.

"That's what I thought…" Ichigo said contentedly.

The substitute then walked back over to the group of models, who could do nothing at the moment other than look at him with a star struck expression. You'd think they had never seen someone take on a large group of bandits before.

"Are all of you alright?" Ichigo asked in a slightly concerned voice.

His words seemed to have the effect of breaking the girls out of their trance, although Shoji was still looking tentatively at Ichigo's body as if trying to envision something.

A moment later, all of the models save for Mirajane collectively got up and swarmed Ichigo with beaming smiles and sparkling eyes. The director, once again, didn't move, but the white-haired barmaid was essentially stuck, holding the body of her guild mate as her colleagues swooned all over the orange-haired teen like a gaggle of harpies.

'_What the hell?!_' Mirajane thought, not appreciating the actions of her presumed friends. She wasn't going to just drop the body and run over to him, after all, as that would be rude.

"That was amazing Ichigo!" Shelly commented in an awestruck voice.

"You were so fast! You even beat them without needing to use your sword…" Carla stated, clinging onto his right arm.

'_This isn't fair…_' Mira pouted mentally.

"D-don't mention it." Ichigo replied, a light blush creeping onto his face as the rest of the girls took the lead of the black-haired model.

Mirajane watched as the collective gathering of females invaded the substitute's personal space. While he didn't seem to be able to do anything, he didn't appear as if he enjoyed it. Perhaps her next action would be helping him out, in a way.

"Ichigo, you should probably get back into your body so we can finish the photo-shoot." Mira called in a sweet voice, smiling all the while.

"Yeah, I probably should." Ichigo replied, inwardly releasing sigh of relief.

The three models that had been a little bit too close for comfort whined slightly when he attempted to shake them off, but they didn't stop him from moving forwards. He reached his body a moment later, Mirajane having brought it up so that he could easily enter it.

Both of the two bodies seemed to merge, or rather one seemed to just walk into the other, and shortly thereafter the teen's appearance as they knew it when he was first introduced to them was once again the only one present.

"I still can't believe they trashed my shirt…" Ichigo griped, looking down at his extremely torn shirt with a scowl.

He really did like the shirt, and he doubted he would find anything quite like it in Fiore given that the clothing here, as he saw it, was a little bit different from that which he usually saw in his own world. That didn't mean the styles were as outlandish as what they wore in the Soul Society, but still.

"How do you do that, by the way?" Macy asked, genuine curiosity in her voice.

"Oh, you mean the thing with my body? Well… that's complicated, but I guess the best I can explain it is that my powers are in a different form than my human body, so I have to separate from it to use my sword and other abilities." Ichigo explained, though he desperately wanted to avoid a longwinded story that would likely give the three women, and likely the director, the inclination to believe he was crazy.

"So is it like requip?" Carla asked, tapping her lips with her index finger so as to show she was thinking on what it could be.

"Re-what now?" Ichigo asked confusedly.

"So I guess that's a no…" Shelly trailed off, both she and her colleagues sweatdropping given that most people at least knew what requip magic was.

"Regardless of what type of magic you used, you did a splendid job Ichigo my boy!" Shoji cheered, obviously being extremely pleased that his models, and camera, were safe.

"No problem, though I am sorry about the damage to your studio…" Ichigo replied, referencing the extensive damage to the studio's rear.

Most of the damage had resulted from the entrance the thugs had made, but the rest was slight cracks in the floor and destroyed materials caused by Ichigo throwing them in every direction that was opposite of the models and the director. Despite this, he knew full well that destroying things was likely not the best way to properly do a job.

"Don't worry my boy! The studio can always be repaired, but the lives of my models are irreplaceable!" Shoji proclaimed.

"By the way, shouldn't we inform the police, or whoever is supposed to take care of them?" Ichigo reasoned, knowing full well that no one had made the effort to contact whoever it was that would end up actually arresting the mass of criminals.

"With an explosion like that we found our way here rather quickly…" A man's voice called from the large hole in the far wall of the studio.

Everyone turned to see a sizeable group of army soldiers, clad in their usual uniforms, walking into the studio with their weapons primed. Very quickly, however, they noticed that the entirety of the bandits' group was incapacitated, save for a few who were obviously playing dead so as to avoid any injury.

"Are you all alright? What happened here?" The man asked, evidently acting as the leader of the company of troops.

"We are fine, never better in fact. Now please take these rapscallions away from my precious studio!" Shoji requested, his voice booming as it usually was.

"Very well… you heard him men, take 'em away." The soldier stated, turning to his men so as to give the final order.

The guards seemed a little bit confused as they began to drag the thugs towards the barred wagon they traditionally used to transport prisoners, but nevertheless they did so.

It was very likely that they were all attempting to figure out how exactly a short man, a group of gorgeous but essentially powerless teenage models, and an orange-haired teenager took down nearly forty members of one of the most wanted gangs in the city. In fact, the leader of the gang was among those who were knocked out, only adding to their confusion.

'_At least they work fast…_' Ichigo thought, taking specific note that in the course of only a few minutes the soldiers had cleared the room out and were on their way.

"I am glad to see such trash removed from my beloved studio." Shoji proclaimed contentedly.

"I'm just glad this is over." Shelly sighed out.

"But don't we have one photo to take?" Macy recalled.

"Ah yes, the group photo!" Shoji exclaimed in an exited fashion.

The short brown-haired man turned to face Ichigo with a glint in his eyes, which greatly unnerved the substitute given that whenever he saw a look like that it was never good for him.

"Alright… then I'll get out of the way." Ichigo stated warily, after which he began to walk back towards the picture taking device.

"Now just where do you think you're going?" Shoji asked amusedly.

"Behind the camera… where I am supposed to be…" Ichigo answered, believing his actions to be rather obvious.

"Ah, but I said group shot, did I not?" Shoji countered.

At this, each of the models smirked and Ichigo slightly paled. However, respectfully declining something that wasn't within the job description wasn't grounds for him not to complete the task, so he figured he might be able to.

"Sorry, but I'm just security. I don't really do that whole modelling thing." Ichigo respectfully replied.

"But surely you didn't expect me to demand this of you without proper reward? I will gladly throw in another 50,000 Jewel for the sake of my muse!" Shoji exclaimed, believing that the teen would jump at the opportunity.

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass." Ichigo replied.

"All you would need to do is sit in the center while the girls pose, it's quite simple really. I'm practically giving you the money my boy!" Shoji stated.

"Again, I…" Ichigo began, only to be cut off.

"Awww, come on Ichigo! It'll be fun…" Macy cooed, eliciting a chuckle from the director as he knew very well where this was going.

'_That's my girls!_' Shoji thought triumphantly.

"Yeah Ichigo, please, please!" Shelly begged in a cute manner, making the best begging face that she could.

"I-I… ummm…" Ichigo stuttered, his unwavering willpower currently leaving him for the moment.

"Mirajane, talk to your cute friend for us!" Macy stated, smirking devilishly given that she knew full well with each of them making the request he just couldn't say no.

The white-haired barmaid looked somewhat apprehensive, but weather it was because of her own potential personal desire or peer pressure she decided to give in.

"If it isn't too much trouble, I think it could be fun. Plus it's a good way to say thanks for saving us, and you wouldn't want to say no to our thank you, would you?" Mira asked in an innocent manner.

The very instant that all of them decided to hound him about taking the photo was the same moment he knew he was going to be in the photo one way or another. His personal morals just wouldn't allow him to deny a collective request from a group of girls, at least not something as harmless as this.

He'd have to remember to punch his old man extra hard for making him that way when he got back to his own dimension. Thus, he sighed in defeat and nodded his head, which incidentally caused both the models and Shoji to smile victoriously.

"Fine, I'll do it." Ichigo replied.

"Great, now wear this." Shoji requested.

He tossed the boy a dark red swimsuit with white stripes on the sides a moment later, which was caught but subsequently elicited an expression of disbelief from the substitute.

"You just carry around a swimsuit with you?" Ichigo asked in a confused tone.

"Of course." Shoji answered as if the behavior was perfectly normal.

"Right…" Ichigo replied before walking off into the changing room.

_**A Few Minutes Later…**_

"Alright, is everyone good and ready?" Shoji asked, the excitement in his voice coming out as he prepared to take a photo of the group.

Currently, the five individuals in total sat on a faux-beach scene completed with real sand. Ichigo currently sat in the center with each of the four women hanging on his sides. Carla and Macy each sitting on his left and right, posing near his midsection, and Mira and Shelly sitting behind him on his right and left side respectively, grabbing onto his shoulders and posing as they were requested. Incidentally, be that by the request of the director or not, the four girls stared at the orange-haired teen with bright, seductive smiles, or at least that was the word that came closest to describing it.

Ichigo himself just sat on the center, doing a phenomenal job of keeping the red tinge off of his cheeks. It took every fiber of his being not to blush given the proximity of the four respective models, and he knew full well that the redheaded one was leaning a bit too far into his body, as evident by the fact that her breasts were noticeably pressed against his side. Shelly was no better on his left side given that she clung a bit too tightly, therefore pressing her breasts against his back and shoulder. It was like an attack from two fronts, but even so he remained composed. He didn't have the ability to speak, but he was composed nonetheless.

"Yes." Came the collective reply of the models. At the moment Ichigo just decided to stay still, shut up, and wait for the madness to end.

"Mira my dear, could you please switch places with Shelly? I believe the scene is better complete this way." Shoji requested.

The white-haired woman nodded, a blush coming onto her cheeks, after which she and the green-eyed model swapped positions, which put Mira to Ichigo's immediate left and Shelly on his right. Realistically this only changed which part of his back the blue-haired girl's breasts were pressing up against, but still Ichigo wouldn't protest. With that done, the director smirked, and an instant later took the picture.

"Marvelous! Excellent job today girls!" Shoji exclaimed proudly.

The short brown-haired man hopped off of the device and then proceeded to walk up to his technical employees, a bright and content smile plastered onto his features. They all dispersed a second later, each respectively getting up and stretching their limbs after such an arduous day of labor.

"Ichigo my boy, I would like for you to come back to my office so that I may give you your just reward." Shoji requested, ceasing the substitute to release an inward sigh of relief given that it officially meant he was done with this job.

"Alright." Ichigo replied.

Both he and the director then began to walk off, but they were stopped by several respective calls in rapid succession of one another courtesy of the girls.

"Thanks for saving us again Ichigo!" Shelly shouted, waving goodbye.

"Don't be a stranger if I see you at some point." Macy stated, mimicking the actions of the blue-haired model.

"Be safe!" Carla said in a friendly manner.

Ichigo responded in kind, waving back and flashing the girls a friendly smile. At the very least he could say he didn't exactly hate his first job, in part because of them and also in part because he had the opportunity to protect them. Once he had left the room, each of the models released a collective blissful sigh.

"He really wasn't what I expected when director Shoji said we were getting a security guard…" Macy sighed out.

"Mira is so lucky to have him in her guild. Why does everything good happen to her?" Carla lightly pouted, crossing her arms underneath her breasts.

Each of the girls then noticed something, or rather a lack of someone to be specific. They each looked around the room, instantly realizing their college and mutual friend was no longer in their presence.

"Hey, where did Mira go?" Macy wondered aloud, sounding confused.

"She probably just went back to change… she does, after all, have to catch a train back to Magnolia soon." Shelly mused.

_**Sorcerer's Weekly Studio's: Director's Office, Several Minutes Later…**_

"…and here you are. The extra money has already been put into it." Shoji stated happily as he threw a large envelope down onto his desk.

Ichigo sweatdropped at the relative ease the man parted with the money, but he took it all the same with the appreciation one would expect. He just wasn't used to work going this way just yet.

"Thanks… also, sorry if I destroyed anything in your studio." Ichigo said, though his words were met with a friendly shake of the head.

"As I said, don't worry about it my boy! Money is something I can always make more of, and a studio is something I can rebuild, but thanks to you I still have the chance to create beauty." Shoji replied cheerfully.

"Alright… thanks again." Ichigo said with a smile before turning heel and preparing to walk off.

"Oh, wait, before I forget…" Shoji called, prompting the substitute to stop in his tracks.

The orange-haired teen turned to see the man offer him what appeared to be a pitch black t-shirt and a business card, the same address written on it as the building they currently stood in. He figured the director would explain, therefore he said nothing in favor of shooting the man a curious brow.

"Think of the shirt as an extra thank you for what you've done, and the card is if you ever decide to get into the modelling business… just food for thought. Also, if ever you need a favor, feel free to ask." Shoji said, chuckling slightly.

"Thanks for the offer, I appreciate it. Take care of yourself." Ichigo said as he put on the shirt, now being extremely glad he didn't have to look like a stripper when next he saw Natsu or entered the guild.

Shoji nodded his head firmly as if to acknowledge the teen's farewell, after which Ichigo left the room, feeling somewhat thankful that the day was finally done and he had been paid.

He supposed this was the hardest part of his stay here, and it just got significantly easier given that he was just rewarded so much money. It did make him feel a tinge of regret given that he was fine with protecting the girls without a reward being necessary, but even so he supposed if the money was offered in the first place there wasn't a point in refusing it.

_**Sorcerer's Weekly Studio's: Outside the Director's Office,**_

"What a day…" Ichigo sighed as the door to Shoji's office finally shut.

"Really, was it that rough?" A sweet feminine voice inquired.

The orange-haired substitute released a small gasp of surprise, after which he turned to see none other than Mirajane leaning up against the wall just outside the director's office clad in her usual attire.

"Hey Mirajane, what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked, sounding surprised.

"That's really the kind of greeting I get?" Mira asked, pouting cutely.

"N-no, I was just surprised to see you outside Shoji's office is all. Anyway, how are you holdin' up?" Ichigo asked, his voice shifting to one of concern as he finished his question.

"Hehe… why are you so serious? I'm fine, thanks to you." Mira said reassuringly.

"That's good to hear. So anyway, Mirajane, did you want to talk to me or something?" Ichigo asked, wanting to get back onto the topic he had originally wanted to start on.

The white-haired barmaid directed a slight glare and a rather adorable frown at Ichigo immediately after his question was prompted. This, in turn, confused him greatly, but it was very hard to believe she was angry since her facial expression was very nonthreatening and her hands were cutely placed on her hips.

"Um… did I say something wrong?" Ichigo asked confusedly.

"Not really… it's just weird that you call me Mirajane all the time. Most people at the guild call me Mira since we're so close. When you use my full name it makes me think you don't see us as friends." Mira explained.

"Oh, sorry about that. I didn't really know you preferred to be called that." Ichigo replied, bashfully rubbing the back of his head and shutting his eyes for a brief moment.

"I understand, but you're a member of Fairy Tail now which makes us family, and every member of my family usually calls me that. Plus, you did just save my life." Mira countered, her usual bright smile returning in full force.

"Gotcha… Mira." Ichigo said, causing the girl's smile, if possible, to increase in size a slight but noticeable amount.

"I did want to speak with you though. I wanted to say good job on your first mission!" Mira cheered.

"I'm just happy those dirt bags are in jail now…" Ichigo muttered.

A scowl and accompanying glare unintentionally formed on his face as the thought back to his fight with the human traffickers. This subsequently caused Mira to giggle at how easily his mood seemed to change at the mention of the littlest things.

'_He really is too serious sometimes._' Mira thought through her laughter.

"W-what?" Ichigo asked, not believing he did anything that was particularly humorous.

"It's nothing Ichigo… I guess it's just fortunate you were the one to be here today. I don't think there are too many others in the guild that could've taken care of them so easily." Mira replied.

"Honestly I would've taken them down with or without a reward. Actually, I feel kind of bad taking the money to begin with." Ichigo said in all honesty.

'_Too noble for his own good I see…_' Mira thought with a smile, his words being something that he expected to hear from Natsu. Perhaps this was part of Ichigo's actual personality, or perhaps it was just Fairy Tail's beloved dragon slayer rubbing off on him, but either way it was really something else to hear.

"Where did you learn to fight like that by the way? You seemed to know exactly where they would attack and how to take them down." Mira stated, her tone containing a small sense of awe.

"I picked up the hand to hand moves on my own, for the most part. Actually I had a habit of beating up thugs before I got my powers. I can't even believe that was just a year and a half ago…" Ichigo said.

He chuckled at the acknowledgment of how quickly his life had changed after just one simple event. Regardless of whether or not it was predetermined that didn't change how impactful it was.

"Oh, that's interesting. I look forward to seeing more of your powers and maybe hearing a thing or two…" Mira said with a bright smile.

In truth she wanted to ask him a good bit about how his abilities worked, and now even more so than before. His words implied that he somehow received his powers, which was really something else given that she had never heard of anything like that before.

Despite the fact that she desperately wanted to ask a myriad of questions, the barmaid thought it best not to swarm him with said inquiries. In time she would be able to ask him whatever she wanted, and there was also the distinct possibility that the questions would answer themselves.

Actually, given that they were both heading back to the same location, the white-haired former mage thought that there was a chance they could head back together. If they were on the same train, perhaps she wouldn't have to wait all that long to ask him the questions she wanted. At the same time, she wasn't entirely sure if she should ask for him to accompany her back.

A somewhat awkward silence ensued, Ichigo not entirely sure what to say next and Mirajane evidently wanting to say something but debating on whether or not she should.

"So…" Mira began, fidgeting slightly.

"Yeah?" Ichigo asked with a raised brow.

"Are you going to catch the train back to Magnolia or do you have plans?" Mira asked, somewhat sheepishly.

"Sorry Mira, but Natsu asked me to meet up with him in the forests almost one town over." Ichigo replied, frowning slightly.

"Oh… I see…" Mira said, her tone one of evident disappointment.

"W-well if you really want, I can just travel back with you. I'm sure Natsu will understand if I tell him later." Ichigo stated.

'_Hmmm… I really want him to, but if he promised Natsu then I can't really do much in good conscience…_' Mira thought.

It was actually just comforting to know that Ichigo so readily offered to accompany her when he found out that it seemed to be what she wanted. In a way it was sweet, but still Mira couldn't justify being so selfish in this instance. Plus, knowing Natsu, he'd stay put and assume that Ichigo would eventually be where he wanted to meet up. That sounded just like him, after all.

"No, you go ahead and head back with Natsu. I'll see you back at the guild." Mira said with a bright smile, no longer sounding dejected in the slightest.

"Are you sure, because I…" Ichigo began.

"No, really, I'm fine! Now go and find Natsu, I'm sure he is waiting." Mira reassured.

Without another word, Ichigo just nodded his head and ran down the hall, stopping for only a second to wave goodbye to the white-haired barmaid who returned the gesture in kind.

Mirajane released a disappointed sigh when she knew that the substitute was out of range, mainly due to the fact that she had really wanted to ask him about himself on the train ride back to Magnolia. At the same time, however, she now knew something she hadn't before, something specifically about Ichigo and his personality.

'_When he said what he did before joining the guild, I could tell he wasn't lying. Now I know for a fact that he has the actions to back up his words. You really do belong at Fairy Tail, Ichigo…_' Mira thought, looking off down the hallway the substitute had recently exited through.

"Still… I did want the company on my way back…" Mira lightly pouted.

**A/N Okay, so once again the next Chapter will be posted next Monday. Until then, see ya!**

_**Explanations**_:

**What's Next?**: I feel I should just say that the next chapter will be the prelude to Erza's arrival at Fairy Tail, which will also be the preceding chapter to the Lullaby incident. So it is definitive that Erza will show up in two chapters and I just figured I would let you all know. Ichigo will, however, get a sense that Natsu and Gray both fear Erza an insane amount.

_**Reviews**_:

**Krazyfanfiction1**: Not really sure, I might think of something. Rest assured, however, that _if_ I have it happen ;P, I will make it work.

**guzen**: There were two routes you can go, one being canon and one being a freshly created storyline. However, going by a modified version of Fairy Tail's canon allows for better character development, I think. Since so much happens that's very difficult to overlook in the grand scheme of things in Fairy Tail, it would be very difficult to have Ichigo be a part of a different storyline and just gloss over things that happen. Even more of a challenge would be completely doing away with every even in the FT universe and replacing them with something else, which I simply didn't want to do. I see your point, but the feasibility of not going canon is lacking, I feel.

**HurricaneGohan94**: Incidentally, so am I. If I had to write that as two chapters, I would shoot myself before even posting it xD.

**Hotstreak's crossover stories**: Nope, he will not. I can't actually picture him being afraid of someone like her, even if she can be incredibly intimidating at times xD.

**megaslayer321a**: I think you mean Zalty, and I will tell you right now that they _may_ or _may not_ ;P fight. _If _they did, it won't really be a challenge. Jose, maybe, but kinda sort of not really. I don't really think he is that strong, and if I had to say my opinion I think Ichigo would beat him somewhat easily without his Bankai if he were at full strength. As for an OC, well, I intend on creating a few here and there, but not in the tower arc. That was a really, really good guess though, as I actually considered doing that in the first place. Great minds think alike, I suppose :).

**Mr. unknow**: No, at least I don't plan on doing it. There will be a singular person who arrives in the Fairy Tail universe, but that is a long, long, long way off.

**99 luffy**: I thought about doing that, but giving him his own team would distance him from the people I intend on making him close to, so if I did that I would get my good and my bad. It would be cool to do, but then again a different storyline just for him just puts him… too far out there, I think, and I don't want to distance him, or at least I'd really like to avoid it. It was something I considered, though.

**Exanime Draco**: Congrats, you were right!

**dragongod123**: I think you mean Zero in the Nirvana arc? Also, not necessarily… ;P, but you won't find out why I said this to you for some time… so, again, ;P

**hollow96**: Near future, no, sorry ;(


	8. Meeting Up

**A/N Here you go everyone! Just a quick notice, the next chapter will be posted on Friday. Oh, and Erza appears in it for the first time…**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 8 **

"Are you sure, because I…" Ichigo began.

"No, really, I'm fine! Now go and find Natsu, I'm sure he is waiting." Mira reassured.

Without another word, Ichigo just nodded his head and ran down the hall, stopping for only a second to wave goodbye to the white-haired barmaid who returned the gesture in kind.

Mirajane released a disappointed sigh when she knew that the substitute was out of range, mainly due to the fact that she had really wanted to ask him about himself on the train ride back to Magnolia. At the same time, however, she now knew something she hadn't before, something specifically about Ichigo and his personality.

'_When he said what he did before joining the guild, I could tell he wasn't lying. Now I know for a fact that he has the actions to back up his words. You really do belong at Fairy Tail, Ichigo…_' Mira thought, looking off down the hallway the substitute had recently exited through.

"Still… I did want the company on my way back…" Mira lightly pouted.

_**Forests Outside Magnolia: Entrance, Some Time Later…**_

The young Substitute Soul Reaper who currently found himself a ways away from home, putting it mildly, stood in place leaned against a tree as he had been for nearly an hour.

If he had a watch on his person he'd have checked it just about ten times by now. Natsu was the one who told him where to go, and given that the dragon slayer should, in theory, be closer to the designated meeting place it was very odd that Ichigo had been waiting so long.

'_Well, I guess it isn't that big of a deal… maybe he got caught up on his job._' Ichigo thought.

Natsu's mission very easily could have been more time consuming and it wasn't exactly implausible for this to be the case. Actually, Ichigo's job was very simple and really the only remotely difficult about it was dealing with forty or so bandits.

'_Scratch that, dealing with those models was harder._' Ichigo thought, chuckling to himself given that he found such things to hold true.

In all honesty the orange-haired teen didn't really mind the quiet time he had received this past hour or so as it allowed him to reflect on the day's events. Everything that happened was just so weird, and the more he thought on it the weirder it got.

Some of the things he had considered were more pleasant than others, such as the implications of taking down the thugs who came after the girls at the photo-shoot. Putting them away likely saved a lot of lives that could and likely would have been put in danger had they been allowed to roam freely.

Moreover, he supposed it was actually a good release of stress to beat them down. Sure there was a moral aspect, but given the circumstances surrounding his presence in this world and the situation his actions were not only warranted but called for.

'_I did warn them at the start… not my fault if they didn't choose to listen._' Ichigo thought.

After a little over a year without his Soul Reaper powers, though, it felt absolutely amazing to protect people again. Granted the human traffickers weren't necessarily as dangerous or as difficult to deal with as hollows, but even so they still presented a threat to this world and the people in it.

He smiled, nostalgically, as he once again allowed himself to feel the joy of protecting something. That had actually been one of his main concerns, or rather a subset of one of his primary concerns.

Since arriving in the land he now knew to be Fiore he was worried mainly that he wouldn't be able to get back to his world on his own. That, for the most part, proved to be true. However that was only really an issue if he couldn't find a place to be useful, a place where he could protect people during his stay.

Being thrown into a different dimension, in a literal sense, wasn't really something that disturbed him a great deal. Technically speaking the Soul Society was a different world and he voluntarily went there a little over a year ago. He did it again a short time later when he charged into Hueco Mundo. In both instances he had the desire to protect something precious to him, and that was the sole reason he chose to fight no matter what during both of these excursions.

'_You know, I should probably be a little bit concerned that this doesn't bother me that much…_' Ichigo thought ironically.

The only different aspects about his current situation and his various trips to Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society, respectively, was the fact that when he traveled to those places for the first time he knew he was going because something was there that he wanted to protect. Now it was the reverse, he was here in Fiore and needed to find something to protect, but in doing so the situation became something he was ironically comfortable with.

'_I think… I think that Fairy Tail is definitely the thing I was meant to find… or at the very least the people in it._' Ichigo thought.

He released a slight sigh, after which he became silent once again. Self-reflection was only bearable for a certain period of time, after a while it just got plain boring. Nevertheless he didn't really have the power to speed up time, and thus he decided to simply wait.

"See, I told you!" A cheerful sounding voice shouted in triumph, breaking Ichigo out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever ya stupid cat…" A feminine voice responded in a melancholy fashion.

Ichigo turned his head to see a group of three familiar individuals exiting a nearby bush, smiles on two of their faces and a neutral expression on the third.

"You're just bitter because he was right." Natsu said in a teasing manner.

"Luigi is just a bitter person." Happy stated matter-of-factly, eliciting a growl from the blonde-haired mage.

"For the last time it's Lucy!" She shouted angrily.

"Where the hell were you three?" Ichigo asked as the three made their way towards him.

"We got held up on our job. Sorry if we're a little late." Natsu said, rubbing the back of his head in a sheepish manner.

His latest roommate didn't know it yet, but he had spent a great deal of time on a job that turned out to be far from worth it in a monetary sense. Even so, not accepting the reward was something the dragon slayer would've done a hundred times over.

"It's not that big of a deal… to be honest I'm just glad you made it. I was starting to think you wouldn't get here." Ichigo replied.

"How long were you waiting here?" Lucy asked with a raised brow, sounding curious.

"…an hour… but that isn't the point." Ichigo said, waving it off as if it were nothing.

The blonde looked at him with a deadpanned expression, knowing full well that had it been her she would've found the nearest city and taken a train back by now. Say what you wanted, but this guy seemed to keep his promises.

"Anyway, I'm beat…" Natsu commented, suppressing a yawn as he spoke.

"Aye!" Happy stated in agreement.

"Then do you guys just want to set up camp here? After the day I've had, I'm kind of tired as well." Ichigo said.

"I could go for some rest right about now." Lucy replied, looking to her fellow teammates for a response.

By the time her head had shifted to the dragon slayer and his feline companion, the two were already sitting by a lite fire with fish cooking all around it. How this was possible, neither she nor Ichigo knew, but at this point they just didn't care enough to question it.

"That was fast…" Ichigo said amusedly as he took a seat by the fire.

"Aye! When it comes to fish and food, we never joke around." Happy stated.

"You got that right little buddy." Natsu exclaimed cheerfully.

A moment of silence kicked in as the group watched the fish cook, or in the general direction of the fire in Ichigo's case. He wasn't really all that hungry given that he had stopped to grab some food before he decided to head towards the forest's entrance. In hindsight that was a good decision given that the dragon slayer and the rest of his friends were a little more than fashionably late.

"So how did your job turn out?" Ichigo asked, breaking the silence.

"Well… that answer is a bit complicated." Lucy stated vaguely.

"Aye…" Happy trailed off.

"What the hell happened?" Ichigo asked with a raised brow.

"We got to the employer safe and sound and got all the information straight after we left and I gave you directions. We actually found out the reward had been raised to 2,000,000 Jewels." Natsu began.

"Whoa, that's a lot of money." Ichigo said, his eyes widening slightly at the sheer amount. Even by this worlds standards his words had to be correct.

"Yeah, Lucy over here nearly fainted." Natsu joked half-heartedly.

"I did not!" Lucy exclaimed in an embarrassed manner.

"Did too." Happy commented.

"So, anyway, what happened after that, did the job not go well?" Ichigo inquired.

"Yeah, it actually did. We ran into a mean lookin' celestial spirit and that Everlue guy was really, really annoying, but we pulled through and got the book." Natsu replied.

"But that's where everything kinda turned downhill…" Lucy commented.

"I don't follow… wait, Natsu blew up the guy's house, didn't he?" Ichigo stated, not entirely understanding what other explanations there could actually be.

"Everlue's house, yes, and I couldn't blow up the other guy's house cuz' he didn't own it to begin with." Natsu replied.

"So you did blow up the employer's house?" Ichigo asked, realizing the dragon slayer didn't say anything to the contrary.

"Of course not! How violent do you think I am anyway?" Natsu countered.

"You're insanely violent, and you also used me just because I had blonde hair!" Lucy exclaimed.

"He did what?" Ichigo uttered confusedly.

"It's not that big of a deal, all I did was have her dress up as a maid so we could try to get the book real quickly. It didn't work out though since Everlue didn't think she was cute enough." Natsu replied.

"Aye, and we were sure it would work." Happy said. The latest Fairy Tail wizard glared daggers at her two companions before shifting her vision back to Ichigo, wanting to pick up where they had left off in their explanation.

"To actually explain what happened, we found out the guy didn't actually own the house. He wasn't actually rich, and he didn't have the money to pay us. It turned out that he was just borrowing it from a friend so that he could look the part." Lucy began.

"He didn't smell like the house, that's how I knew. All he wanted was for the book to be brought back, but he had a good reason I guess." Natsu stated.

"Which was?" Ichigo questioned, wanting elaboration.

"His dad had been forced to right the book for Everlue, and he wanted to destroy it. When I looked at the book through a special type of reading glasses I figured out that his dad had written the book for him, specifically. Natsu figured out that the guy wasn't really rich, though…" Lucy explained.

"Yeah, and when he told us it was true he couldn't pay, we said it was fine and that we couldn't accept it even if he had the money since he wanted the book so badly. So long story short we really got nothin'." Natsu continued, rubbing the back of his head and chuckling at the irony of the situation.

"I see… well, I wouldn't have taken the money either. It really wouldn't have felt right to me." Ichigo stated, his words being in line with the thoughts of the others present.

"That's pretty much what we though to. Anyway, ya win some ya lose some, right? At least I got to get in a good fight, and even Lucy here kicked some serious butt." Natsu replied.

The blonde-haired mage blushed at this before waving the comment off in an attempt to illustrate a sense of humility. Even so, her ego was so easily satisfied it was truly quite shocking.

"Oh stop, it wasn't all that impressive…" Lucy stated.

"I was surprised." Natsu commented amusedly.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

"Gee, thanks for the believing in me guys." Lucy replied with a deadpanned expression.

The group then turned towards the orange-haired teen, not yet having heard how his mission went. When it became clear that he didn't know quite why they were staring at him, the celestial wizard decided to clarify.

"So how did your job go, Ichigo?" Lucy asked in a friendly manner.

Though her job hadn't ended quite how she had wanted, and even though Natsu had basically used her for her looks, she didn't view the day as a total loss. Also she was quite curious as to how the orange-haired teen's first job went, which with any luck went better than hers.

"Actually it went pretty well. However I did find out the hard way why the pay was so high. Apparently the director of the magazine had expected a gang to try and kidnap the models, so that's why he sent a request to Fairy Tail." Ichigo began.

"Wait, so he sent out that request knowing something would happen? Did he at least tell you, because I don't remember reading anything like that in the request?" Lucy asked, eliciting a shake of the head from the brown-eyed substitute.

"No, he didn't. It was pretty obvious when they made their entrance though, mainly because they blew a hole in the wall. They were in the same human trafficking thing as that Bora guy if what they said was anything to go by. At the very least they knew who he was." Ichigo replied.

"Bleh, that creep…" Lucy sneered, scowling at the memory.

"So how many of the thugs were there?" Happy inquired.

"I think thirty five in total. If you're asking about the models there were only four, one of which was Mira, actually." Ichigo answered.

"Wait, you ran into Mira?! That must've been amazing to see her at her modeling job!" Lucy squealed in a girlish manner. Very clearly she envisioned the life of a model as extremely glamorous, otherwise she would have paid more attention to what happened and specifically who it happened to.

"I think you're missing the point Lammy." Happy stated.

"It's Lucy!" She shouted.

"So those creeps tried to take Mira and the other girls away like Bora tried to do to Lucy?" Natsu asked, receiving a nod as confirmation.

"Tch, I hope you kicked their asses Fairy Tail style." Natsu said with a scowl, likely due to the fact that one of his close friends was involved. Other than Ichigo, that is.

"If by that you mean I beat the crap out of them then yes, I did." Ichigo replied with a smirk.

Natsu smirked in much the same way while Happy just continued to look content and blissful as he usually did. Lucy, on the other hand, looked at the substitute with wide eyes, the implication of his words not being lost to her.

"You took down all thirty-five of them?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Yeah, I did. They were just lucky I didn't use my sword, otherwise they wouldn't have gotten off with just some bruises and a beating. Well, I guess the army took them to whatever jail is like here, but still that's a lot less of a punishment than I had in mind." Ichigo replied.

He scowled a second later at the memory of how cocky and disgusting the gang members had been. They really did belong in jail, and he was more than happy to put them there.

"There ya go! It woulda been a real shame if you let anything happen to Mira, otherwise a lot of the guild would be pissed off at you." Natsu stated matter-of-factly.

"Aye." Happy said in agreement.

"Since I guess that means you got paid, did you already buy some new clothes?" Lucy asked.

"No, why would you think that?" Ichigo questioned right back.

"It's just that you're wearing a new shirt so I could only assume." Lucy answered.

"Oh, well this is a new shirt, but the director of the magazine gave this to me as a thank you and a bit of compensation since I was stupid enough to let one of them rip into my shirt with a knife." Ichigo explained, though he ended on a bitter note. He had a reputation to uphold, after all, so he couldn't just let anyone tear his clothes up, much less some random thug.

"How much did you end up making?" Happy asked.

"Around 450,000 Jewel in total." Ichigo replied, causing a certain blonde's mouth to hang open out of shock.

"Not too shabby if I do say so myself." Natsu said with a wide smirk.

"Think of all the fish we could buy…" Happy thought aloud, actually drooling at the prospect.

"I'll be happy to buy you a fish, Happy, but I can't just go and spend all of it on something like that." Ichigo stated emotionlessly.

The blue-furred cat turned and looked at him with a stern glare, holding his paw up a moment later so as to illustrate he was about to lay out a condition.

"Two fish…" Happy said with conviction.

"Sure thing little buddy." Ichigo replied, chuckling slightly as his words seemed to instantly turn around the feline's mood.

"Yes!" Happy shouted, jumping into the air as if to proclaim his technical victory. He did, after all, just get two free fish.

"Wait a minute…" Lucy trailed off, sounding as if she was deep in thought.

She had, at first, been taken aback by the amount that Ichigo had earned, but upon breaking out of her stupor she realized something. The request hadn't actually been for that much money in the first place.

"…the job was only for 400,000 Jewel, so how did you get the extra 50,000?" Lucy questioned skeptically.

"Oh yeah! How did you do that Ichigo?" Natsu asked in a tone of childlike curiosity, almost as if he was hanging on to every word that was being said.

The orange-haired teen blushed slightly and averted his eyes, the reason for the extra money not being something he was all too proud of. In actuality the photo might not even be published, so he figured not telling them wouldn't immediately backfire.

"I'd rather not talk about it…" Ichigo replied vaguely.

"Okay… that's a bit weird, but still good job!" Lucy said, ending on a cheerful note.

"By the way, Natsu, how did you end up figuring out they weren't really the owners of the home you went to?" Ichigo asked, doing so out of curiosity.

"Oh, that was easy. The place didn't smell like it was theirs." Natsu replied.

"Is that a dragon slayer thing?" Ichigo inquired.

"I think it's just a crazy thing…" Lucy commented.

"Hey!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Well despite how he figured it out it turned out to be true. I wasn't really paying attention to who they were though. I was still lost in the clouds after reading that book." Lucy stated, smiling widely at the recollection of discovering the actual text of the literary work.

The blonde was immediately pulled out of the clouds, so to speak, upon noticing a somewhat sinister smile courtesy of the dragon slayer. He gave off the impression he knew something about her that she didn't want him to know.

"I think I've got you figured out… all those papers I found in your room earlier today…" Natsu began.

Ichigo raised a curious brow at the words of his pink-haired friend, but it was more because of what his words resulted in. Almost immediately Lucy began to panic, a blush creeping onto her cheeks and sweat lightly dripping from the sides of her face.

'_Whatever he has to say can't be that embarrassing…_' Ichigo thought. Perhaps after the day's events he really shouldn't be the one to sit in judgment over what was and was not embarrassing.

"You're writing a novel, aren't you?" Natsu mused.

His assumption was proven without the need for confirmation on the part of the blonde-haired celestial mage, whose face lite up a brilliant shade of red as a result.

"Oh, so that's why she's such a book worm." Happy reasoned.

"Wow, that's not something I expected." Ichigo commented idly.

"Promise you won't tell anyone about that, okay?" Lucy pleaded, her face still a bright crimson color.

"Why not?" Happy inquired.

"Because I'm a horrible writer, if anybody ever read my stuff I'd die of embarrassment!" Lucy exclaimed, fidgeting back and forth due to the self-proclaimed truth of her words.

"It can't be that bad…" Ichigo said in an attempt to console the clearly distraught mage. He incidentally did a much better job than the follow-up that came courtesy of his companion.

"Don't worry, nobody's ever gonna read it." Natsu said reassuringly, sweatdropping at the blonde's reaction.

"Yeah, that doesn't really make me feel any better…" Lucy replied with a deadpanned expression.

_**The Next Morning…**_

The group of freshly named friends continued to make their way back to Magnolia and back into the safe haven that was their guild. Each was currently trudging through the murky swamp, however that was perhaps a very loose interpretation of what was going on.

Natsu was the only one who was technically trudging through the bog while Happy rested on his shoulder and Lucy stood at his side from within Horologium the clock spirit. Ichigo was also making his way through the swamp, but it was only in spirit, literally. His spirit form was walking through the murky water while his human body was thrown over his back.

"I don't know about this, guys… are you sure we're going the right way, she asks." Horologium stated, obviously speaking for his time-slotted master.

"Happy says this is the way home, so this is the way we're going, I answer." Natsu sneered.

"Have some faith! I'm a cat and I have a great sense of smell. My nose will lead us home." Happy proclaimed proudly.

"Its dogs that have good noses… and what does smell have to do with direction, she asks quite haughtily." Horologium said.

"Lucy, just drop it. We'll find our way back… eventually." Ichigo stated in an attempt to pacify the blonde.

"That doesn't make me feel better, she sighs tiredly." Horologium replied.

The group soon exited the swamps, after which Ichigo entered his human body once more in order to walk properly on foot again, or at the very least do so without his own weight thrown over his shoulders. Lucy, however, didn't exit the clock spirit, who seemed to have a much greater time limit than the last time they had seen it. Perhaps the blonde reworked her contract after the incident with the Vulcan on Mount Hakobe.

'_Still, she really could complain a bit less…_' Ichigo thought. Natsu didn't really seem to care all that much, but even so it still appeared to annoy him a decent amount.

"What does your nose tell you now, cat, she asks scornfully." Horologium abruptly said as they continued to walk down a clear path through the forest.

"It says I'm going the right way!" Happy answered confidently.

"Why don't you do your own walkin' for a while?" Natsu questioned, not even bothering to look back at the girl who knew perfectly well he had been addressing her.

"Because I'm tired, she groans exhaustedly." Horologium replied.

Any would-be conversation resulting from the repeated complaints of the blonde about Happy's sense of direction was cut short immediately upon a nearby bush randomly shifting, which caused each of them to stop dead in their tracks in favor of glaring warily at the large plant. Very clearly it wasn't the wind that had shifted its leaves, and that meant only one thing.

"Whose there?!" Natsu exclaimed.

Fairy Tail's resident dragon slayer didn't even bother waiting for an answer despite the fact that he raised the question. In an instant he leaped into the bush, prompting Ichigo to look at the currently rustling foliage with a deadpanned expression.

"Do you always have to fight, she inquires worriedly?" Horologium stated, having caught the bags that Natsu tossed backwards in favor of jumping into the nearby bush.

"You can take him Natsu!" Happy cheered.

"Why are you encouraging him? Also, why the hell did you ask if someone was there before you just jumped in?!" Ichigo asked, not seeing the logic.

If he had at least kept quiet then he had a bit of an advantage, but asking the question and alerting whoever it was to his presence took away the purpose of giving the person a chance to come out as well as any advantage he gained form not saying anything in the first place. Natsu was already a good friend, plain and simple, but that didn't mean he didn't do stupid things.

His thoughts and mental gripes about the dragon slayer's logic were cut off upon seeing two individuals pop out of the foliage into the open area, where both could be seen.

Both Ichigo and Lucy immediately recognized the individual as someone that they had met beforehand at the guild, and even along the same theme he didn't really appear to be wearing any clothes outside of his boxers.

"It's Gray!" Happy exclaimed.

"Why the hell is he basically naked?!" Ichigo shouted in an annoyed tone.

"I was trying to find a bathroom." Gray stated, glaring at the dragon slayer as he spoke.

"Then why would you take your clothes off _before_ you found one? Also who ever heard of a bathroom in the middle of a forest?" Natsu countered, glaring at the ice mage with equal intensity.

"I wanted some privacy! I didn't expect some idiot to barge in randomly." Gray countered, butting heads with the pink-haired teen.

"Who're you callin' and idiot?" Natsu growled out, starting off what had become known as a traditional encounter with the ice make user.

"Why are they so childish?" Lucy wondered aloud, having called back her clock spirit at some point after Gray was revealed.

"When did you come out of the clock…" Ichigo trailed off.

_**Some Time Later…**_

"I see… so you're just coming back from a job?" Lucy asked.

After Natsu and Gray had stopped their childish fight, courtesy of some motivation by a certain orange-haired teen, they had sat down by a hillside and opted to fish in the river that flowed at the bottom. Also, by some miracle, the ice mage had actually managed to find his clothing.

"Yeah, there's a shortcut through these woods that'll get you back to town in no time." Gray explained.

"See, I told ya so." Happy stated.

"Yeah well if your nose is so great then how come you didn't smell Gray, smart guy?" Lucy countered.

"There's some things you don't wanna smell." Happy replied.

"What'd you say?" Gray barked, a tick mark popping out of his forehead.

"I agree, so go on home and we'll smell ya later." Natsu said with a cocky smile.

"We might as well walk back with him. Gray is in the same guild, after all." Ichigo reasoned, though the dragon slayer just huffed at the notion.

"I agree." Lucy commented.

"Well then ya better get up and head back as soon as possible. Even if you don't follow me back you should do the same, unless you want trouble that is." Gray warned.

"Why would we have to get back as soon as possible?" Ichigo asked with a raised brow.

"Because Erza's due back any time now…" Gray answered in a solemn tone, his skin paling as he spoke.

"Whoa, no way…" Natsu trailed off, something akin to fear shining in his eyes.

'_Wait, he's actually capable of fearing something…_' Ichigo thought with wide eyes.

The reaction that the simple name elicited from the dragon slayer was rather extreme, especially if you considered who it was that it happened to. His skin paled, he started to sweat, and he his body even shook at random intervals of time.

"_The_ Erza?" Lucy exclaimed with a somewhat fearful expression.

"She's the most powerful woman in all of Fairy Tail." Happy chirped with a fish in his mouth, likely fresh off the line he had been manning.

"Wait, who?" Ichigo asked confusedly.

His words drew a collective expression of disbelief from Natsu and Gray, while Happy didn't seem to do a thing. The blue-furred Exceed really seemed incapable of having any face other than a playful glare or a cheerful smile and general demeanor.

Needless to say, however, this person defiantly had a reputation. Lucy, on the other hand, looked rather cheerful or exited for some reason, though Ichigo couldn't for the life of him tell why this was the case.

"I can't wait to meet her." Lucy cooed.

That answered the unasked question in an instant. It likely had something to do with the fact that this girl, whoever she was, had the ability to instill fear into Natsu. If she could do that, then perhaps she was some kind of goddess on earth.

"Again, who is she?" Ichigo asked, turning to the blonde-haired celestial mage given that she seemed to be the only one capable of giving him a concrete answer.

"All I know is that she's the strongest female wizard in Fairy Tail, though I don't know what she looks like. I haven't even ever seen her picture in Sorcerer's weekly or anything." Lucy replied.

"Speaking of which, what's she like?" Lucy inquired, looking towards her other comrades for an answer.

"Scary…" Gray, Natsu, and Happy answered collectively.

"Heheh…" Lucy nervously chuckled, not entirely sure what to make of their answer.

"Wild animal." Gray commented.

"A vile beast." Natsu added.

"More like a full-on monster!" Happy corrected.

The image of a colossal beast seemed to be portrayed by the duo, and that seemed to unnerve Lucy buy Ichigo just sighed. There was no possible way that this female wizard could possibly be that bad.

"She's not that big you guy's…" Happy commented.

"She's big enough to me." Natsu replied.

"If there's one thing we can all agree on, she's at least that scary… maybe even scarier." Gray said, sweating slightly at the mere thought of the Titania's power.

"Come on, she can't be that scary." Ichigo reasoned.

"No, she's much worse and also freakishly strong." Natsu replied, his skin still pale.

"Why do you think she's so…" Ichigo began, only to be cut off.

In an instant a large explosion sounded off. Ichigo had been the only one who had seen it coming, but even that was a split second before it occurred. As a result, he was off to the side, safe and sound, while the others were now covered in sand.

'_What the hell was that?_' Ichigo wondered, glaring at the surrounding area in order to see exactly what had happened.

"What now?!" Lucy griped.

"You guy's alright?" Ichigo asked, walking up to his guild mates as he sensed no immediate threat was nearby.

"I'm fine, but… Happy!" Natsu exclaimed, realizing that his feline companion wasn't currently among the group.

_**Magnolia: Fairy Tail Guildhall**_

"I'm back everyone!" Mirajane chirped as she gracefully entered the wooden building.

"Glad to see ya!" Several exclaimed.

The white-haired former mage then walked towards the bar, ready to resume her duties as soon as was possible. Her train ride had been delayed, which made it even more unfortunate given that a certain orange-haired otherworldly individual had denied her invitation. What's more, he clearly wasn't back yet, which did put a slight damper on her mood but she didn't allow it to bother her too much.

"Ah, Mira, how was the photo-shoot?" Makarov asked in a friendly manner.

"Well we had a slight problem when a group of bandits showed up, but luckily…" Mira began, only to be cut off.

"What?!" Many members of the guild shouted in unison.

It wasn't every day that you heard of a group of thugs ransacking the Sorcerer's Weekly studio, but at the same time it annoyed the barmaid a great deal that she had been interrupted. They didn't even pick up on the 'but luckily' which she had foolishly hoped would calm them down.

"Big sis, what happened?!" Elfman asked worriedly.

"Can I please finish?" Mira asked, her tone possessing a slight edge.

Almost instantly everyone in the guild went as quiet as a mouse. It was very rare that she requested something like this in that particular tone, or pseudo-tone since it didn't sound all too threatening. But even so when she asked in that manner the entire guild had the choice of listening or disobeying at their own peril.

The white-haired former demon of Fairy Tail smirked proudly given that it appeared she hadn't lost her touch, but upon opening her mouth so as to continue with her explanation, the only person in the entire guild, at the current moment, cut her off.

"So I assume Ichigo dealt with them, eh?" Makarov asked with a knowing grin.

"H-how did you know?!" Mirajane exclaimed in a surprised manner.

"I saw him take the job, and since your back here safe and sound I could only assume." Makarov explained, chuckling as he was met with the sight of the barmaid's adorable pout.

"Well do you also know how many showed up and how many he took down?" Mirajane asked, trying to sound somewhat superior given that the master very easily could have told a bland version of the story in her place.

She wasn't very petty in the least, but even so she wanted to at least be able to convey a decent story or two whenever one came around. After all, since a certain tragic event nearly three years ago her life hadn't been all that exciting.

"Hmmm… I dunno, maybe twenty?" Makarov guessed, sounding as if he thought his answer was correct, or at least close to the actual number.

"Try thirty-five… and he won with his bare hands." Mirajane stated with a small smirk.

"My, now that is impressive." Makarov replied with a grin. Very clearly his suspicions about the boy's ability to fight were correct.

"I don't believe it…" Cana scoffed, not seeing the teen as the type to be capable of such things.

"Not only is it true, he did it in only a few minutes as well. They were all arrested when the army showed up, and everything was fine after that!" Mira chirped.

"You're serious? I mean, maybe ten or twenty I could buy, but that many in that short a period of time?" Cana asked skeptically.

The brown-haired mage wasn't really a cynic by any measurable amount, but she did prefer to see things with her own eyes, especially if they involved things that were particularly hard to believe. When it came to Ichigo Kursoaki, many things had proven to be hard to believe.

"It's completely true. Why would I lie?" Mira countered.

"Damn… then I guess he can fight after all." Cana thought aloud, sounding a bit more surprised than she likely intended.

"Anyway, I'll have to congratulate the boy when he gets back. A job well done protecting Fairy Tail's treasure." Makarov stated proudly.

"So he isn't back yet?" Mira asked with a raised brow.

The elderly mage instantly picked up on a slight drop in the positive nature of the woman's tone. Well, that on top of the fact that she didn't smile brightly at the compliment he gave her. That usually never happened.

"N-no, he as well as Natsu and Lucy are still out on their jobs. Well, probably on their way back by now, but still…" Makarov replied.

"I see… well, if he gets back and I'm not here, say thanks again for me." Mira requested, her bright smile returning once more.

"Of course my dear." Makarov said, returning the gesture in kind.

_**Forests Outside of Magnolia: Unknown Location…**_

"We're finally going to eat some meat tonight…" An odd-looking shortly built creature with gray skin stated.

He and a group of wizards, all of which were human with the exception of a rather large chicken, currently stood by a tied up cat over what appeared to be the makings of a fire, save form the flames actually being present. Each was salivating, but the blue-furred cat himself was shaking nervously, obviously not enjoying the prospect of being eaten.

"No more berries for us today, time for some protein." One of the men said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"Hey you jerks!" A voice called out from the nearby hillside.

Each member of the oddly sorted entourage of mages looked up to see a group of four teen's, three men and one woman, standing atop a low-leveled peak. None of them looked particularly happy, but that was to be expected given that each knew perfectly well the cat they were about to eat belonged to them.

"That's our friend over there and there's no way in hell we're gonna let you eat him." Natsu stated convincingly, cracking his knuckles as he spoke.

"Yeah, get ready for an ass kicking." Gray added.

"Buzz off ya brats! The cat's our food now." The short inhuman creature exclaimed.

"Are you guys all wizards, what guild are you from?" Natsu asked, glaring at the group of individuals he knew to be wizards.

"Heh, not tellin'." One of the men replied.

In a fit of rage Natsu almost charged down the hill directly into the pile of mages, but a hand forcefully being placed in front of his chest stopped him from doing so. He looked at Ichigo, who seemed to direct a simultaneous scowl and glare down at the group that took Happy.

"You mind letting me take this? These guys really piss me off…" Ichigo stated.

Natsu looked at him confusedly before said look of confusion was replaced by a knowing smirk. Without any further words, he nodded, effectively giving the substitute to do whatever he pleased.

In an instant Ichigo grabbed his combat pass, allowing his body to fall back freely into the hands of both Natsu and Lucy. Gray had wanted to make a move, but he didn't given that the one person he never expected to give up a fight allowed this to happen.

'_Natsu must actually respect this guy… who knew he was capable of that?_' Gray wondered. There were two other exceptions in the form of Erza and the master, but his listening to each of them possessed a slight bit more of a fearful undertone than a respectful one.

The substitute jumped down the ledge, his zanpakuto strapped to his back in white cloth as it usually was, and his posture suggesting he was about to come at the group of mages without any hesitation.

"I'll give you guys a warning. Give us back the cat and then maybe I'll go easy." Ichigo threatened.

Subsequently after these words left his mouth, one of the men made to laugh at the notion. However, before even a single section of laughter left his throat, Ichigo lunged forward and planted his fist firmly into the man's stomach.

His mouth shot wide open and a gasp escaped his lips, but immediately after this he went flying into a nearby hillside, cracking the stones with his body.

'_What the hell?!_' Many wondered, not having seen the teen move.

"Whoa…" Gray uttered, not even remotely expecting Ichigo to be that fast.

"Nice hit." Natsu said with a grin, his arms crossed and his eyes glued to the fight.

"It was this way when he fought Bora. I didn't really believe what I was seeing." Lucy said with a smile as she observed the battle.

The remainder of the wizards began to attack Ichigo in an attempt to take advantage of his lack of positioning, or at least that what they thought they were doing. Without even a moment's hesitation, the substitute dodged the fists before sending a kick directly at two of his attackers, hitting one who subsequently smashed into the other. It was made all the more ironic by the fact that they appeared to be twins.

Incidentally they soon shot directly into a collection of nearby trees, obviously no longer being able to fight properly, but he didn't stop there, in fact he was already prepared to make the next move.

As Ichigo had suspected, the large chicken-like creature attempted to punch him directly in his midsection so as to capitalize on his lack of ability to move after having just dispatched two more people. However, he effortlessly caught the beast's fist, after which he sent a punch straight at the center of its head, knocking it out in an instant.

With that done, Ichigo turned, still holding his scowl and glare, to face the remaining man, or creature by the looks of it. The only one remaining was the sole gray inhuman looking beast that he had sensed the moment before Happy was taken.

"Well… let's go help clean up." Natsu said with a small chuckle before he began to travel down the hillside.

"Alright, but don't go tellin' me what to do." Gray barked before following suit, the blonde-haired mage doing the same shortly thereafter.

"I'll bet you think that you've got me backed into a corner, don't you?" The creature reasoned, staring down at the black-clad teen across from him.

"Well you don't!" He exclaimed, calling forth a large amount of sand to the palm of his extended right hand.

It appeared as if he was going to blast the substitute with some kind of sand magic spell, but he didn't even get the chance as the instant he readied to fire his attack a punch sent him flying into the side of a very large tree. The creature then fell over, face first, with its eyes closed and its mouth only uttering quiet pained moans.

"Yeah, clearly I didn't." Ichigo scoffed.

_**A Few Minutes Later…**_

Ichigo had entered the sanctity of his own body once again while Natsu and gray had tied up the group of mages and Lucy had opted to free Happy, although begrudgingly.

"That was pretty impressive Ichigo. I didn't peg you as someone who was skilled at hand to hand combat." Gray complimented.

"Thanks, I guess, but I… where the hell are your clothes?!" Ichigo exclaimed. Those words were very familiar to him, but not in the context of talking to a man.

He was more used to speaking to a very, very seductive purple-haired woman who enjoyed teasing the hell out of him. Gray, however, didn't even seem to notice whenever his clothes would vanish.

"Crap!" Gray shouted.

"How can you lose your clothes so easily and not even know it?" Natsu scoffed.

"You wanna go flame brain?" Gray challenged.

He and the dragon slayer butted heads while in the background both Ichigo and Lucy began to examine the group of captured wizards. The inhuman-looking one had started to come to, as evident by the fact that he had started to mumble something incoherently.

"Lu…by…" The creature uttered.

"Wha?" Natsu wondered aloud.

"Lul… by…" It repeated.

"Is it saying Lullaby?" Gray asked.

"I think so…" Ichigo answered.

At complete random some kind of invisible force ran through the ground, so difficult to detect that not even Ichigo had sensed it coming. Every member of the group fell to eh ground a moment later, bearing witness as the tree that the wizards were tied to simply sink into the ground, taking the men with them.

"What was that?" Gray wondered aloud.

"You mean who was that." Natsu corrected, eyes wide.

Ichigo immediately got up and glared off into the distance, his senses catching something far off from their current location. Even if he had opted to use his combat pass and go after the presence with flash step, it was too elusive. One second it was there, and another it wasn't.

'_Dammit!_' Ichigo thought, not at all being prepared for what had occurred.

"Whoever it was they're fast, I can't even sense them anymore." Gray stated.

"Neither can I…" Ichigo commented, sounding clearly annoyed.

"What could this mean?" Natsu wondered aloud.

"Lullaby…" Lucy repeated, the very name striking her as if she knew it. At the same time she just couldn't put her finger on it.

"Dammit, I was careless." Ichigo grumbled.

"It doesn't matter. Happy's safe and that's what counts, right little buddy?" Natsu asked, high-fiving the blue-haired feline.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

"Anyway, we should probably get moving now. If we hurry we can make it back to the guild before sundown." Gray stated.

"Right." They replied in unison.

_**Magnolia: Fairy Tail Guildhall, Some Time Later…**_

"We're back." Ichigo announced calmly as he and the others entered the infamous building.

"Hey guys!" Many said in a friendly manner, some holding their drinks up so as to say hello in their own right.

The guild looked back and gave cheerful expressions, appearing as if they would do so for any of their comrades that decided to enter no matter what the means.

"What kind of an entrance was that? Where's the spirit?" Natsu asked.

"Is there supposed to be spirit in kicking down the door?" Ichigo countered.

"Well… yeah." Natsu replied, though the orange-haired substitute just waved him off in favor of walking further into the guildhall.

Many people stared at the group as they walked towards the main bar, though for unknown reasons given that none of them had done anything of note lately. In fact none of them had been here for quite some time, nearly two days in total. For a second Ichigo just assumed that it had been Gray and he had lost his clothes again, but upon seeing that the ice mage had walked off he knew that couldn't be the case.

"Welcome back, you guys!" Mirajane chirped, greeting the trio and Happy with a warm smile.

"Yes, welcome back. How did your first missions go?" Makarov asked eagerly.

"Thank you master, but between the three of us only one of us got paid." Lucy said, rubbing the back of her head in a bashful manner.

"What did Natsu blow up this time?" Makarov asked through a sigh.

"Hey! I don't always blow stuff up!" Natsu shouted defensively.

"Well did you?" Makarov asked knowingly.

"Yeah, but words still hurt ya know!" Natsu replied.

"Still, he chose not to accept the reward because the family that offered to pay them didn't really have the money. The employer apparently faked their wealth just because they were so desperate. Natsu and Lucy got done their job just fine, and to be honest I'd have done the same thing if I were in there position." Ichigo stated, defending the pink-haired mage for what it was worth.

"Oh, I see… then I apologize, Natsu, that was a very mature decision you made. A job well done." Makarov said in a humble manner.

His words, however, were disproved a moment later when the dragon slayer continued his childish antics, or rather his response as the case currently was.

"You're damn right! What else would you expect?" Natsu cheered.

"I don't know, maybe your usual flame-brained brand of idiocy." Gray commented from a nearby table, successfully angering the dragon slayer.

"You wanna go stripper boy?" Natsu challenged, angering the ice mage just as much as the previous comment had angered him.

"Bring it ya moron!" Gray replied.

The two then launched at one another with their fists primed and not a care in the world. Ichigo released a sigh, but overall it had been the case that Natsu held back for the entirety of their trip back to the guildhall, so he guessed it was earned in a way.

'_Wow, I know it's bad when I start to think like that…_' Ichigo thought, mentally chuckling given that in any normal circumstance he would have asked or forced the dragon slayer to stop.

"There they go again…" Lucy sighed out.

"They usually do… anyway, can I get you anything, Lucy… Ichigo?" Mira offered from the opposite side of the main bar.

"No, but thanks. How was your train ride back, by the way?" Ichigo asked, recalling that the bubbly woman had suggested he accompany her.

"Well… my train was delayed by a good amount of time… which made me wish I had company." Mira replied, ending on a suggestive tone that prompted the substitute to release a nervous chuckle.

"Hehehe… sorry about that. Now I really do feel bad." Ichigo said bashfully.

"You saved her life, you shouldn't feel all too bad." Cana stated, coming over to the main bar with a smirk on her face.

"Thanks again for that, Ichigo." Mira stated, giving honest words of gratitude.

"Oh, by the way, I don't think we've officially met. Name's Cana Alberona. Friendly word of advice, don't challenge me to a drinking game unless you want to lose." The woman said.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, nice to meet you." Ichigo replied.

"So Mira told the guild that you took down over thirty thugs with your bare hands… is that true?" Cana asked with a raised brow, the same smirk still present on her lips.

The brown-haired booze enthusiast gave a sly glance to Mira, who was somewhat unnerved by it. Cana wasn't necessarily one to randomly walk up to a person she didn't know too well without reason, and the usual motive was simply to mess with them. The only question remained if she was here to mess with her, or with Ichigo.

"Yeah, I did. They deserved a lot worse though… damn perverted scumbags." Ichigo scoffed.

"Wow, now that really is impressive… but you have the thanks of the entire guild for saving our resident sweetheart." Cana said amusedly, prompting the barmaid to giggle since that very clearly was a reference to her.

"Oh stop, you're making me blush…" Mira replied, though the kindness in her voice was somewhat faked at the moment. It became perfectly clear that she was now being mocked by the busty brown-haired mage, and in all honestly she didn't care to make a habit of being mocked freely by people.

"But I nearly had a miniature stroke when I hear that…" Cana began overdramatically.

She, however, stopped upon seeing the white-haired barmaid write something down on a piece of paper before holding it up behind Ichigo's shoulder. As a result of this, the conversation came to a sudden pause, with Cana looking over the substitute's shoulder briefly in order to read the apparent message.

'_Cana, don't forget who decides to give you drinks…_' She read, after which she cleared her throat so as to push off her silence on something going down the wrong way.

"Sorry, I had something in my throat. Anyway, I may have been exaggerating a bit, but still you did a good job and I figured I may as well tell you that." Cana stated before walking off.

Messing with people was one thing, but losing her drinking privileges was something that just wasn't worth risking.

"That was weird…" Ichigo thought aloud.

"Not really." Mira commented, bringing the orange-haired teen's eyes towards her once again.

"Anyway, I think me and Natsu should head out. It was good seeing you Mira, and again sorry I didn't go back with you. Didn't really think the train would be delayed…" Ichigo said, honestly clear in his voice.

"It's okay." Mira reassured.

"Alright then… Natsu! We're leaving." Ichigo stated, turning to look at the dragon slayer.

"Awww, but I wanna fight Gray more!" Natsu lightly whined, though to speak he did, in fat, stop fighting the ice mage.

"You can fight him tomorrow, we should get going now." Ichigo stated.

The dragon slayer sighed out of annoyance before he exited the fight and headed for the exit alongside Ichigo, the blue-haired Exceed sitting happily on his shoulders.

"See you tomorrow guys!" Natsu said.

The guild waved a collective goodbye at the two teens as they left, a gesture that they returned in kind up until the point that the door closed behind them. However their exit did leave a small impression on those who remained.

"They seem a lot like brothers, don't you think?" Cana mused as she sat back down at the main bar.

"You mean if Natsu was the younger one that does stupid things and Ichigo is the older mature one, than yeah, they're brothers all right." Lucy stated, eliciting a giggle from the white-haired woman across from her.

At the same time, though, she knew Natsu had a big heart, in fact one that likely shined brighter than anyone she had ever met before.

"I think it's cute that they get along so well. Plus, Natsu seems happy." Mira commented.

_**Magnolia: Natsu's Home, Some Time Later…**_

The dragon slayer and his latest comrade and roommate entered the large wooden cottage-like building in silence. Not even Happy chose to say a word yet he kept the same usually goofy expression he always did.

"You've been glaring at me for the past ten minutes, any reason why?" Ichigo asked, looking at the pink-haired mage and taking note that he still hadn't let up.

"I just realized half-way back to the house that I won't be able to fight Gray tomorrow since Erza will probably be back." Natsu stated in a childish tone, eliciting a chuckle from the orange-haired substitute.

They then began to walk towards the dual hammocks, Happy flying up to his and the other two lounging in their own. It actually was quite peaceful until a certain fire magic user decided to continue on with his previous rant.

"Great, just great, now I have to act all 'buddy, buddy' with that stupid ass stripper. That's just fantastic." Natsu sneered, obviously sounding discontent.

"Why would you not be able to fight with him again?" Ichigo asked, raising an eyebrow despite the fact that it serve no purpose other than to highlight his own personal curiosity.

"Because Erza doesn't like it when we fight and we have to listen to her because she's frickin' scary." Natsu replied, sounding a bit nervous.

"Well then we'll just have to get to the guild a bit early tomorrow." Ichigo said suggestively.

"Really?" Natsu asked in a hopeful tone.

"Sure, why not." Ichigo replied.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

The trio stayed in silence for the time being, each trying to fall asleep but nether really being able to despite the fact that that each was tired. Something was left unsaid, and no one would be able to sleep with peace of mind until it was addressed.

"Hey Ichigo…" Natsu called.

"Yeah, what is it?" Ichigo asked.

"Are you awake?" Natsu questioned, prompting the orange-haired teen to chuckle, though it was more to himself than at the dragon slayer.

"You've got a habit of asking that ridiculous question, but yeah, I am." Ichigo answered.

"It's just that… I can't shake this bad feeling I have, and it's been buggin' me since we had that run in with those wizards." Natsu stated.

"It could just be that you did something stupid and Erza will be upset with you over it." Happy commented.

"No, that's not it… I think… God, I hope not… I'm so screwed." Natsu whined as if it was a predetermined fate.

"You haven't done anything stupid that I know of, and to be honest I've had the same feeling since we got out of the forest." Ichigo replied, alleviating the dragon slayer of his fear in the process.

"Yeah, same with me. Why do you think that is?" Natsu asked, genuinely wanting to know what the substitute had to say.

"Well I think it's because those mages vanished just before they were about to say something. Moreover we know someone was behind it, and that someone doesn't want us to know what they were about to say." Ichigo mused.

"Aye, but they wanted to eat me so good riddance." Happy huffed, obviously still not entirely getting over the fact that he had nearly been consumed.

It wasn't entirely odd that the Exceed was distraught about that particular situation, but it still didn't address the problem. Someone that neither of them could sense got the drop on them and very blatantly prevented any information the group might have had from reaching their ears. If that didn't seem suspect than nothing in this universe could be subjected to scrutiny by sheer comparison.

"Does the word Lullaby mean anything to you?" Ichigo inquired, hoping that perhaps the dragon slayer would be able to shed some light.

"Hmm… I think it's one of those things you sing to a kid to get him to sleep, right?" Natsu replied.

From his hammock on the opposite side of the room Ichigo resisted the urge to slap the palm of his hand over his face. Perhaps he should have clarified, and that was his mistake, but even so it was still surprising that the pink-haired teen gave that particular answer.

"Besides the obvious answer…" Ichigo clarified.

"Anything that isn't obvious is not in Natsu's department." Happy commented, eliciting a chuckle from the substitute but clearly annoying his closest friend.

"Whose side are you on anyway?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Whoever gives me more fish, and since Ichigo owes me two, I'm on his side." Happy proclaimed.

That may have sounded rather greedy but the dragon slayer perfectly understood the desire to have food. In fact in some cases food took priority over everything else, and fish to happy was the same as meat to Natsu. So he supposed it was a fair response.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that… we can stop at the market or something tomorrow." Ichigo stated.

"Fish, fish, fish, fish, fish, fish, fish…" Happy chanted, causing the orange-haired teen to sweatdrop.

"Yeah… I'm gonna go to sleep now. Goodnight you two." Ichigo said.

"Night Ichigo." Natsu replied.

"Fish!" Happy exclaimed, causing both Ichigo and Natsu to chuckle.

**A/N Okay, the next Chapter will be posted on Friday, and it will be the long-awaited arrival of Erza Scarlet as well as the Lullaby arc. **

_**Explanations**_:

**How Will Ichigo and Erza React to One Another**: You'll unfortunately just have to wait and see ;P

**Mira**: _Maybe_, and I do say _maybe_, she's in the pairing… so, again, ;P

_**Reviews**_:

**A Certain Guest**: No, he will not. However, Team Natsu will also not really be an actual thing.

**Reviewer**: Only reason I say that is because most people associate Harem fics with ones that aren't on a serious side, so the summary will stay as it is.

**Hotstreak's crossover stories**: Yes, the body swap will definitely occur after the Galuna Island Arc.

**Falcon**: Nope.

**Zaralann**: Um, sorry to inform you that there wasn't a single actual question in your last review xD. It was a collection of statements, but I will respond to it! No, that will entirly not be the type of relationship they share. Erza's sword lacking killer intent isn't really a theme of Fairy Tail, and doing something like that would honestly just be copying the story made by Alpine which also happens to be the current #1 favorited story in this crossover genre.

**Dp11**: I've been busy lately, so I will eventually check it out but I haven't yet xD.

**cellum95**: Sorry, I don't have a specific chapter yet ;(

**hollow96**: If you're asking me to do a scene similar to the fic written by Alpine, no, I won't do that because it is unoriginal at this point. When he did it, it was creative, but I don't actually see that kind of thing ever being a problem because Erza's sword lacking 'killer intent' never shows up before, and if I have to be perfectly honest, I don't really think Ichigo attributes his swordsmanship skills to Urahara after such a long period of time has passed, so that one lesson doesn't really define how he currently fights or how he would actually teach someone. They will have many, many, many, many interactions, but this will not be one of them. Also, Ichigo does not currently have his mask.

**Arrankor**: There definitely will be!

**ACE**: See previous review of 'Reviewer' for an explanation.


	9. The Knight Returns

**Chapter 9 **

**A/N Okay, so here's the chapter where Erza appears! Also, it's pretty long, so I hope you all enjoy! Oh, one more thing since people seem to bring this up in reviews, Hell is a dimension, yes, but Ichigo never went there in cannon. For the purposes of this story, the Hell Verse may as well have never **_**ever**_** happened. I agree that Hell is an important dimension, but it isn't really worth mentioning for the purposes of this story so I won't have it being brought up in conversations. **

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 9**_  
_

_**Magnolia: Natsu's Home**_

"Does the word Lullaby mean anything to you?" Ichigo inquired, hoping that perhaps the dragon slayer would be able to shed some light.

"Hmm… I think it's one of those things you sing to a kid to get him to sleep, right?" Natsu replied.

From his hammock on the opposite side of the room Ichigo resisted the urge to slap the palm of his hand over his face. Perhaps he should have clarified, and that was his mistake, but even so it was still surprising that the pink-haired teen gave that particular answer.

"Besides the obvious answer…" Ichigo clarified.

"Anything that isn't obvious is not in Natsu's department." Happy commented, eliciting a chuckle from the substitute but clearly annoying his closest friend.

"Whose side are you on anyway?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Whoever gives me more fish, and since Ichigo owes me two, I'm on his side." Happy proclaimed.

That may have sounded rather greedy but the dragon slayer perfectly understood the desire to have food. In fact in some cases food took priority over everything else, and fish to happy was the same as meat to Natsu. So he supposed it was a fair response.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that… we can stop at the market or something tomorrow." Ichigo stated.

"Fish, fish, fish, fish, fish, fish, fish…" Happy chanted, causing the orange-haired teen to sweatdrop.

"Yeah… I'm gonna go to sleep now. Goodnight you two." Ichigo said.

"Night Ichigo." Natsu replied.

"Fish!" Happy exclaimed, causing both Ichigo and Natsu to chuckle.

_**Magnolia: Streets Leading Up to Fairy Tail, The Next Morning…**_

Both Ichigo and Natsu currently walked towards the guildhall with two very different expressions plastered on their faces. Natsu was his usual self, as was his closest friend who currently sat atop his left shoulder.

Ichigo, on the other hand, looked extremely tired for some reason or another. It had been bad enough that he had promised to leave for the guild early the previous night, which was in hindsight a stupid decision, but he had also not slept well whatsoever.

However, one positive about getting up as early as Natsu had requested, or rather demanded given that yet again the pink-haired mage had woken him up this morning, was the fact that he had a chance to stop by a store and pick up some different clothes. Thus, Ichigo currently wore a collared short-sleeved black shirt with long white pants that mirrored clothing similar to that of his world.

Sadly new clothing didn't really alleviate the substitute of his tiredness, which was very unfortunate given that he wanted nothing more than to feel awake. He released a tired yawn, stifling it with his free left hand but consequently drawing the attention of his dragon slayer companion.

"You alright? You look pretty tired…" Natsu commented with a touch of concern making its way into his voice.

"Aye." Happy said, nodding his head in agreement.

"I'm fine… I just didn't sleep very well last night. At some point I'm pretty sure I fell out of the hammock and ended up on the floor for the rest of the night, so that's probably why." Ichigo replied, yawning yet again.

"How would you know if you fell out and ended up on the floor?" Natsu asked.

The orange-haired teen turned to look at his friend with a deadpanned expression, not entirely understanding why the question was being asked. In fact, Natsu should have actually known the answer given that he was there when they both woke up earlier that very morning.

"…because I woke up on the floor… which you saw this morning…" Ichigo replied, though he didn't think he needed to.

"Oh, so that's why you were on the floor this morning…" Natsu said as if a realization dawned on him.

"He just said that Natsu." Happy stated.

"I knew that already!" Natsu barked.

"It's not a big deal. I'll be fine in about half an hour, I just need some time to wake myself up." Ichigo replied.

The dragon slayer nodded in response, but he chose not to continue the conversation given that they were just about to come up to the entrance of the guildhall. When they were directly in front of the door, he brought back his foot as if to illustrate his intent, but stopped upon hearing the distinct sound of someone clearing their throat.

"What?" Natsu asked confusedly, looking back at the proclaimed Substitute Soul Reaper and noticing the slight glare he was directing at him.

"You're seriously going to just go and kick down the door… again?" Ichigo questioned tiredly.

"I guess not anymore…" Natsu grumbled, placing his foot back on the ground.

A moment later the dragon slayer, although begrudgingly, did open the door in a normal manner, allowing Happy to be the first to enter the guild before he and Ichigo then walked inside in unison.

"See, it isn't as fun this way." Natsu stated matter-of-factly.

"I don't really see a difference." Ichigo replied.

"Hey guys!" Lucy greeted, waving at the trio from the side of the bar across the room.

"Hey Lucy, what's up?" Ichigo replied, though he sounded less enthused than he traditionally did.

"Good morning, I wanna say… Lucy…" Natsu said warily as he and the remainder of his technical team walked up towards the main bar.

"Wow, you actually got it right this time." Lucy said, sounding surprised.

Mentally she actually found it hard to believe that she could ever be impressed or surprised that someone got her name right. It was very easy to remember, after all. Nevertheless she greeted her two friends, and to a lesser degree a certain annoying cat, with a bright smile.

"You look tired…" Lucy commented confusedly, starting at Ichigo as he sat down at the bar.

"I kinda fell out of my hammock and slept on the floor at some point during the night…" Ichigo replied, obviously unhappy that he didn't notice this was the case until after waking up.

"Oh, sorry to hear that. Anyway, what are the both of you planning to do today?" Lucy asked with a raised brow.

"Well I wanted to go on another job, so you up for it Lucy?" Natsu offered cheerfully.

"I don't know, is it because you actually want to go on a job or because I happen to have blonde hair?" Lucy questioned, scowling at the recollection of why the dragon slayer wanted to team up with her in the first place.

"Aw come on, don't be like that! We made a good team." Natsu countered.

"Aye, and we're running out of food money so we need to do a job and quick!" Happy exclaimed.

"I told you this morning I was fine with buying food since you're letting me stay at your place." Ichigo groaned, rubbing his eyes in a light attempt to shake off his tiredness. It, incidentally, did not work.

"Nah, we can't ask you to do that unless we really end up needing it! Besides, it'll be good to go on a job, just the four of us, right?" Natsu countered.

"Well… I can't forget that rent will be due next week." Lucy reasoned.

"So is that a yes?" Happy questioned.

The blonde released a tired sigh as she looked back at the goofy grin the dragon slayer was giving her. She was still a bit upset about how he previously manipulated her and essentially just asked for her help due to the color of her hair, but all in all she supposed they did get the job done.

"…fine, I'm up for it." Lucy replied, still frowning slightly despite her answer.

"Great, we can go pick out a job while Ichigo… well, does whatever he can to stop being tired, I guess." Natsu mused.

Lucy nodded in agreement before the two and their feline companion headed towards the request board, leaving the orange-haired teen to sit in silence with his eyes closed and his head resting in the palm of his hand.

_**By the Request Board…**_

"Wow, I had no idea wizard jobs were so varied." Lucy thought aloud, glancing at each of the many different types of jobs they could take.

Though she did keep in mind the fact that enough money was a prerequisite, this didn't change the fact that she was able to get a good look at all the jobs almost all at once. Some were delivery, some were protection detail, some were simply cleaning jobs, and the list went on and on.

"Yeah, but remember we need to pick one with enough money. You need to cover your rent, right?" Natsu reasoned, though his words caused the blonde to release a tired sigh.

"You remember that but it took you days to get my name right?" Lucy wondered aloud.

"Why bring that up now?" Natsu countered.

They both shook it off a second later, after which they began to look up the various jobs once again. Natsu paid particular attention to one job that seemed like it would be perfect, having a sizeable reward and also being one that multiple people would likely be needed for. However, before he could grab it he was rudely greeted by the one person he just adored seeing so much.

"Mornin' flame brain." Gray greeted as he walked up to the request board.

"Stripper." Natsu responded in kind.

"So are you lookin' for a new job to mess up?" Gray asked.

The tick mark that appeared on the pink-haired teen's forehead was all the incentive the ice mage needed to anger him, and even he was helpless to stop the small smirk that came onto his own lips as a result.

"For your information I am picking out a job for Ichigo, myself, and Lucy. I also found the perfect one." Natsu sneered.

"You mean the perfect one to mess up, right?" Gray corrected.

As a result of the ice make user's repeated comments, Natsu was just around two seconds away from starting one of his guild's famous rumbles in traditional fashion. However, in the corner of his eyes he could see that Ichigo appeared to be asleep over by the bar, or at the very least nearly asleep. With that in mind, the dragon slayer thought back to what had happened to him the previous morning and gained a mischievous smirk.

"Hehe, yeah Gray, you're probably right. Anyway, since I found the job, could you go wake Ichigo up for me? He's just over by the bar and I need to tell Lucy about the job." Natsu requested.

His words somewhat surprised the black-haired teen mostly because Gray had thought that the dragon slayer's response would be some kind of remark about how he always seemed to lose his clothes, or at the very least an insult to his inelegance or magical abilities. The fact that he was so taken aback made him so out of it, in fact, that he actually considered complying with the request.

"Did your fire finally melt your brain?" Gray chided.

"Heh, not at all. I just want ya to go wake up Ichigo so we can get goin' is all." Natsu replied.

"Alright…" Gray replied, sounding highly confused.

"But Natsu, he…" Happy began, only to be silenced at the sight of Natsu's mischievous look. The blue-haired Exceed seemed to grasp the concept almost instantly thereafter.

'_Hehehehe… this is gonna be a riot._' Natsu thought, smirking devilishly at the thought of what would undoubtedly happen next.

The ice mage walked towards the main bar with his thoughts still in disarray. A part of him couldn't actually believe that the fire dragon slayer had actually agreed to his attempted insult. It just didn't make any sense. However, he quickly shook loose of such thoughts upon coming up to the sleeping form of the orange-haired teen.

"Yo, Ichigo, Natsu wants to talk to you about a job or somethin' like that." Gray stated.

His words elicited no response from the sleeping form of Fairy Tail's latest member, but even so that was to be expected with how dead asleep he appeared. Sighing to himself, the ice mage brought his hand forward and prepared to ever so slightly tap his shoulder in order to wake him up.

"Ichigo, Natsu said he wan…" Gray began, only to stop midsentence in light of what happened next.

Before another word left his mouth, Ichigo's eyes shot open, he grabbed Gray's arm, and subsequently threw him across the guild into one of the tables on the far side of the room. The wood of the table instantly shattered and Gray seemed to just groan slightly from within the wreckage. That turn of events definitely got the attention of the guild, however the only ones making any noise were Happy and Natsu, who were both laughing hysterically at what had just occurred.

"Crap…" Ichigo muttered, knowing full well what he had just done. Even now the ice mage still hadn't gotten out of the collision-induced debris.

"Hello Ichigo, how are… what happened?!" Mira exclaimed, having just walked out from the back room with several jugs in her hands. She placed them on the surface of the bar, after which she just stared strangely at the scene before her.

"Sorry about that Gray…" Ichigo called out sheepishly.

His words surprised Mirajane given that the orange-haired teen didn't really seem to be the type to just go and throw someone across the room, let alone someone like Gray. At this, however, Elfman began to chuckle from his table, finding the recent turn of events rather amusing.

"Now that's how a real man wakes up!" Elfman exclaimed cheerfully.

"I repeat, what just happened?" Mira asked confusedly, looking towards the proclaimed Substitute Soul Reaper for an answer.

"It's nothing, just an accident… again, sorry. I'll pay for the table and everything, if that's alight." Ichigo offered solemnly. He did assume he had more than enough money at the moment.

"It's not really a big deal. Tables and furnishing break here all the time, so we have several spears in the basement." Mira replied cheerfully.

'_This happens so much that they have spares?_' Ichigo wondered, sweatdropping slightly.

"Okay… still, sorry about the table." Ichigo apologized once more.

The white-haired barmaid waved a single hand with her eyes closed and a smile etched on her face as if to say it wasn't necessarily a big deal. She did, however, need to go get a new table, and thus she entered the back room and made to get the replacement. Just as this was happening, however, a certain ice make user got up from the remnants of the table and made his way over to the bar.

"What's the big idea throwing me across the room?!" Gray exclaimed angrily, a tick mark appearing on his forehead and having a fist raised directly at the substitute's face.

"Yeah, again sorry about that… my dad had a habit of waking me up by attacking me, and while I guess that was useful for some purposes the reflexes don't make it easy to wake me up. I did the same thing to Natsu accidently the other day." Ichigo explained.

The ice mage instantly noticed a specific part of the other worldly teen's sentence, and that was the portion that involved a certain pink-hired dragon slayer. However, it turned out that it wasn't directly Ichigo's fault, so he supposed it didn't matter.

"Alright…" Gray trailed off.

He then walked over to Natsu, a calm expression still present on his face for a short period of time. However, upon coming into close proximity of the destructive mage a tick mark popped out of his head.

"What's the big idea you flame-brained moron?!" Gray shouted, butting heads with the dragon slayer.

"You wanna fight me popsicle?!" Natsu countered.

"What kind of a stupid question is that?!" Gray exclaimed.

The two then began to punch and kick after one another across the guildhall, which subsequently caused Ichigo to sigh due to the fact that he just knew this had something to do with him. From what he could gather, the black-haired mage was likely sent over to him by Natsu since said dragon slayer knew perfectly well what would happen.

'_Though I didn't think he could come up with something like that… oh well._' Ichigo thought.

On any normal day he would've stopped the two from punching the living daylights out of one another but he did promise the pink-haired wizard that he'd let him fight Gray while he still had the chance. Plus he was still too tired to care.

"Oh, so now they're going at it again?" Mira mused, walking back to the bar.

Ichigo looked at the barmaid with a surprised expression, after which he looked back to the previously destroyed table only to see that the debris was cleared up and a fresh one took its place.

"When did you… how did you…" Ichigo mumbled, looking back and forth between the table and the bubbly teenage woman in front of him.

"I did tell you this happens all the time." Mira stated, giggling amusedly at the orange-haired teen's expression.

"But still that was pretty amazing." Ichigo said with a slight sense of awe, prompting the barmaid to blush, albeit barely, at his comment.

"It's not really all that impressive… anyway, how're you today? You look a bit tired." Mira commented.

The substitute made to answer but no sooner than he opened his mouth did he release a tired yawn. He did cover it up with his hand as he traditionally did, but nevertheless the barmaid giggled in response.

"Yeah, I didn't sleep very well last night." Ichigo replied, smiling slightly at the sound of the white-haired woman's laughter.

"Oh? That's too bad… any particular reason why?" Mira asked, a touch of concern in her voice.

"I kinda fell out of the hammock and ended up on the floor at some point during the night and I didn't really realize what happened until I woke up this morning. I don't understand how Natsu sleeps in those things…" Ichigo replied, rubbing the back of his neck given that even now it still felt stiff as a result of his sleeping habits.

"Well if you every need a comfy bed to sleep in I could help you out." Mira offered with a warm smile.

Her words immediately got the effect of causing Ichigo's eyes to shoot wide open and for his face to light up a brilliant shade of red. Mirajane saw this a moment later, and it was only then that she grasped the implication of her words.

"I-I didn't m-mean it like that!" Mira stated with a heavy blush on her face, waving her hands frantically.

"I was only saying that if you ever needed to shop for a mattress I could help you out." Mira clarified, the pitch of her voice dying down a good bit.

"I-it's okay. Thanks for the offer." Ichigo said, his cheeks still red.

"This place is so weird…" Lucy commented from the sidelines as she watched Natsu and Ichigo's respective interactions.

"Well love can make anything bearable…" A smooth-sounding voice called from behind her.

The blonde turned with a surprised look on her face, only to see the man she knew as one of the most eligible bachelors in all of Fairy Tail. She, however, didn't have a very high opinion of him at the moment despite this being the case.

"Why don't you join the team of love with me, Lucy?" Loke offered.

"Uh what?" Lucy bashfully asked.

"You're just so stunningly beautiful that I have to keep my sunglasses on or I'll be blinded by your dazzling beauty." Loke stated charmingly.

"Girls really fall for this?" Lucy scoffed.

An instant later the orange-haired mage caught a glimpse of the celestial spirit keys that were currently attached to the belt strap on the blonde's left hip. His skin almost instantly paled and sweat began to drop from his brow.

"You're not a celestial wizard are you?!" Loke exclaimed as he backed away from what he had previously described as a beautiful girl.

"Huh?" Lucy uttered confusedly.

"Yup, she's got fish and crabs and stuff." Happy commented.

"Cruel fate why must you toy with me so?!" Loke shouted in despair.

'_What the hell?_' Ichigo wondered, seeing the overzealous reaction, alongside Mira, that occurred directly next to the main bar.

"I'm sorry but you and I can't be together my dear." Loke stated as he ran off.

"What got into him…" Lucy wondered aloud, sweatdropping at the previously smooth-talking mage's actions.

"Loke has a bad history with celestial wizards. Rumor has it he dated one and it didn't end very well." Mira explained.

"Anyway, did you and Natsu at least find a job before he started to fight with Gray?" Ichigo questioned, simply ignoring the ongoing fight between the two said wizards.

"I think Natsu did, but he never really told me what it was…" Lucy replied, releasing slight chuckle shortly thereafter.

"Well if you do go on a job, let me know. The master's away at conference so I'm covering for him." Mira stated.

"I was wondering where the old man was. Anyway, what kind of conference is he at?" Ichigo questioned curiously.

"It's a conference for guild masters. Every once and a while they come together so they can talk about the state of things. It's like the magic council, but not." Mira explained.

"The magic council, what's that supposed to be?" Ichigo asked confusedly.

"Oh, that's right, you really wouldn't know about them…" Mira reasoned.

Mira tapped her chin in thought as if considering something, after which she seemed to realize the perfect way to answer the orange-haired teen's question. Abruptly the barmaid turned towards a nearby table, glancing at a man with a large torso wearing a white shirt and an odd-looking hat.

"Excuse me Reedus, may I borrow a light pen?" Mira requested.

"Oui." Reedus replied.

The white-haired former wizard began to draw a diagram in thin air with the object that could only be described as a magical pen. Once the diagram was complete, it was revealed to be something similar to a hierarchy of the magical organizations in the kingdom. With the drawing finished, she turned to face both Ichigo and Lucy once more.

"The council, Era, is the most powerful organization in the magical world. It has ten members and it's their job to uphold all magical rules and regulations. And if a wizard breaks any magical laws they would be tried by the council." Mira began.

Ichigo picked up, specifically, on the portion in which the barmaid described the laws and regulations function of the council. These people definitely seemed like the type he didn't want to piss off during his stay, especially with his current situation given that it would only service to make matters all the more complicated.

"Then there's the different guild masters league which are local groups that work together… then the individual masters, and it's their job to pass on the decrees of the council. They also communicate with other guild masters on a regular basis. They are basically the glue that holds us all together… it's a pretty stressful job." Mira continued.

"I never knew all the guilds were so interconnected." Lucy muttered.

"The system really is intricate, but also well balanced. The only real problem is the Dark Guilds, which exist outside the system itself. They're the bad apples of the magical world and are mostly involved with magical crime." Mira added.

"Tch, figured there'd be people like that…" Ichigo scoffed.

"They sound kinda scary." Lucy commented.

"Aye." Happy said in agreement.

"What'd you call me?!" Natsu exclaimed, breaking up the conversations across the guild and alerting every one of his fight's escalation.

"You heard me ya spineless wimp!" Gray shouted.

"Let's get serious!" Natsu stated, summoning fire to cover his fists in the manner he preferred to do whenever he was fighting in hand to hand combat.

"There they go again…" Mira commented, sounding amused but appearing as if she were nervous. The master wasn't here to stop them, after all.

"I guess I should stop them." Ichigo mused.

The substitute had only just gotten out of his chair before the door opened up in what sounded like an urgent manner. Everyone turned quickly, seeing Loke once again, though if his expression was anything to go by it seemed the world was about to end.

"I've got bad news… its Erza, she's on her way here." Loke stated.

The entirety of the guild froze completely at the words of the man who appeared as if he were Ichigo's doppelganger. Even Natsu and Gray, or rather especially, stopped their fighting and paled.

"Wow, just mention her name and everyone freezes up." Lucy thought aloud.

"Well she is the strongest female wizard we've got in Fairy Tail and more than a bit intimidating." Mira commented.

"I still don't see how she can possibly be this scary…" Ichigo thought aloud.

Previously he had suspected that Natsu and Gray were just being childish or possibly just over exaggerating how strong or scary this female mage was. However, if the reaction of the guild was anything to go by you'd think that she was as strong as Yamamoto and as charming as Grimmjow.

But a moment later the audible sound of approaching footsteps filled the air, though no one said a thing given that they all know who the owner of the footsteps was. Shortly thereafter, the expected happened.

A relatively tall woman with a slender figure, scarlet-colored hair, deep brown eyes, and a serious disposition entered through the opened doors of the guildhall. She wore a silver set of Heart Kreuz armor with the emblem of the guild tattooed in red directly over where her left breast was presumably located. Beneath that she wore a simple blue skirt and a pair of black boots that covered her lower legs and reached to just below her kneecaps. The oddest thing about her, however, was the fact that across her shoulders she carried a large horn-like object decorated with jewels and gold, though for unknown reasons.

"I have returned, where is Master Makarov?" Erza questioned sternly, placing the large object down on the floor and standing it upright.

"Wow, she's pretty." Lucy commented.

"Welcome back Erza, the master's at a conference right now." Mira stated.

"I see." Erza replied with a nod of understanding.

'_Huh… she isn't exactly what I pictured her to be. Hell, if I believed half of what Natsu said she'd be a about as good looking as a hollow._' Ichigo thought ironically.

The mental image that Natsu had given him was a large monster capable of destroying mountains without any significant effort. To him, the mountain thing was believable given that he had personal experience with destroying them so easily in the past, but being a literal monster was going a bit too far. This woman seemed nowhere near as scary as she was made out to be, but that was in line with his suspicions. In fact, the only strange thing about her was the object she had carried in.

"So, umm… what's that humongous thing you've got there?" One of the guild members asked curiously.

"It's the horn of a monster that I defeated. The locals were so thankful that they decorated it and gave it to me as a gift… do you have a problem with it?" Erza asked aggressively.

"Not at all!" The man immediately replied.

"She's not anything like I imagined…" Lucy thought aloud.

"Now listen up." Erza commanded.

Everyone in the guild practically stiffened at this, clearly out of fear. Ichigo, for his part, was starting to understand that this girl, while she didn't appear scary whatsoever, was more than capable of proving her strength. The members of the guild could act scared and childish all they wanted, but if they didn't respect her they wouldn't listen to her, plain and simple, which meant she had clearly done a good bit to earn it.

'_That said… she's definitely a little rough around the edges._' Ichigo thought, mentally noting that the redheaded teen was, or at least appeared to be, incredibly bossy. Still he could count off people more insufferable than this that he got along with, mainly Byakuya, Toshiro, Soifon, and he supposed Yamamoto, in a way.

"While I was on the road I heard a few things. Word is Fairy Tail is causing nothing but trouble as of late. Master Makarov doesn't seem to care, but I most certainly do. Cana, you need to control your drinking habits…" Erza began, glancing at the brown-haired mag who currently sat at one of the tables with a barrel of alcohol in hand.

The scarlet-haired teen then began to give various commands to several of the guilds members, ranging on scolding them for smoking to scolding them for dancing indoors.

'_She really, really is bossy…_' Ichigo thought as he listened to the commands. They weren't necessarily unreasonable, but even so it was hard to make an order seem 'un-bossy'.

"She's really tearing into everyone… it's like she's completely taking over." Lucy whispered to both Ichigo and Mira.

"That's Erza for ya." Happy stated.

"Even if she is pretty bossy… she still seems like the sanest person here. I don't get why people are so scared of her." Lucy stated.

"Ditto." Ichigo commented.

"Are Natsu and Gray here?" Erza abruptly asked.

When this was asked, Erza turned to face the iconic fire and ice magic users of Fairy Tail, as did Ichigo and the others who were intently listening to the woman's words due to the fact they didn't have any idea what she was like prior to her entrance. However, for a brief moment they dropped their curiosity about Erza in favor of confusion.

Before their very eyes, Natsu and Gray stood, shaking in light fear, holding one another's hand in a friendly manner. It was incidentally so unnatural that Lucy almost shouted at the top of her lungs due to her own confusion.

"Aye." Natsu said.

"Oh hey there Erza, we're just hangin' out like good friends tend to do." Gray said, clearly being nervous.

"Aye." Natsu added.

"Why is Natsu talking like Happy?!" Lucy exclaimed worriedly.

"That's great, I am quite pleased to see the two of you getting along so well. However, it's only natural for even the best of friends to lock horns every now and then." Erza stated.

"I don't know if we're the best of friends…" Gray trailed off.

"Aye…" Natsu stated.

"This is really, really weird…" Ichigo commented in a clearly confused tone, eliciting a giggle from the white-haired barmaid.

"Well it's only natural, Natsu's terrified of Erza. A few years ago he challenged her to a fight and she beat him up pretty bad. Then she found Gray without any clothes on and decided to beat him up as well." Mira explained, sounding cheerful despite the oddity of her words.

"…actually I can understand that last one." Ichigo stated.

In all honesty he was surprised the ice mage had gone so long without losing his clothing. It was probably the longest period of time the substitute had ever seen him with all of his clothes still on his body.

"She also beat up Loke for trying to hit on her." Mira added.

"And I can understand that." Lucy said.

"Natsu, Gray, I need you to do me a favor." Erza abruptly stated.

The mood of the guild changed from a calm terrified to one of deadly seriousness at the words of the redheaded knight. It, very clearly, wasn't every day that she asked anyone for favors.

"While I was on my travels I heard something that has me troubled. Normally I would consult the master but he isn't here and this is a matter of utmost urgency. The two of you are the strongest wizards here and I could really use your help." Erza continued solemnly.

"Did that just happen?" Someone whispered.

"Erza, if you need help with a mission I can suggest a few people!" Mirajane offered cheerfully, drawing the attention of the scarlet-haired woman.

"I could use all the extra help I can get. If you believe they are strong enough to aid me than I will not decline your offer." Erza replied with a small smile.

"Our two newest members will be more than strong enough to help you! Lucy defeated a mercenary gorilla using only her pinky finger, and Ichigo saved my life during my photo-shoot by beating over thirty bandits with his bare hands and without using any magic." Mira stated.

Lucy sweatdropped at the words the barmaid had said, mainly because they weren't all that true. They weren't necessarily untrue, but still they made her sound a bit more impressive than in reality. Erza, however, just stared confusedly at the bubbly woman as if she didn't understand or found something beyond her ability to believe.

"We have a strawberry in our guild that is capable of combat?" Erza asked in a surprised voice, though since the redhead was currently in the guild not a soul laughed out of fear of incurring her wrath.

"That's not what it means dammit!" Ichigo exclaimed, a tick mark coming onto his features.

The scarlet-haired requip user turned to face the source of the outburst with a confused expression, not recalling the particular voice at any previous instance. She just assumed that it belonged to a new member.

"My apologies, but I don't recognize you. Are you new to Fairy Tail?" Erza inquired calmly.

"Yup, he sure is, and so is she…" Mirajane stated, dragging Lucy into the redheaded knights line of sight.

"Oh? What are your names?" Erza asked with a raised brow.

"Hello Mrs. Erza, ma'am, I'm Lucy Heartfilia, nice to meet you." Lucy greeted nervously, desperately wanting to make a good first impression.

"And you are?" Erza asked, turning towards the orange-haired teen.

Inwardly the blonde let loose a sigh of pure relief, taking the scarlet-haired woman's silence as a sign that she didn't mess up. She didn't get any words of praise, but not messing up was just as good at the moment.

"My name's Ichigo Kursosaki. Also it doesn't mean strawberry, it means he who protects." Ichigo stated.

"My misunderstanding, it will not happen again, I assure you." Erza said stiffly.

"Right…" Ichigo replied, sweatdropping at the robotic manner the woman was currently speaking.

It was almost as bad as Ulquiorra, though not quite due to the fact that her tone was fine. Mainly, it was the words and serious demeanor that made her out to be mechanical.

"Anyway, if you need the extra help you should take them! They both seem capable, and I got to see Ichigo fight firsthand. I'm sure they can help you out." Mira said confidently.

"Mira said that you took down over thirty thugs with your bare hands and without the use of magic… is this true?" Erza questioned, genuinely wishing to know if this was the case.

The one positive thing she had heard during his recent travels had been that a Fairy Tail wizard had foiled a human trafficking syndicate that desired to capture a series of Sorcerer's Weekly models, one of which was Mira. If this turned out to be the very person behind that praise, then perhaps he would prove to be useful on her coming mission.

"He also helped to save Macao's sorry ass." Someone else commented, though said blue-haired mage stayed quiet given that he didn't want to anger Fairy Tail's Titania even more than he already had.

"Yeah, it's true." Ichigo simply replied.

"Then I need only to know one thing… can you hold two hold your own on this mission?" Erza asked in an ominous but deadly serious tone.

"Yes." Ichigo immediately answered.

Truth be told he didn't even need to know what he was up against. That never mattered to him in the past and it didn't matter to him now. Plus, if someone who was as strong as this Erza person was said to be, then it stood to reason that this wasn't exactly a go at your own pace job request, which would mean that his help was likely necessary.

"Y-yes, I think so." Lucy said, though she sounded nowhere near as confident as Ichigo did.

"Very well, welcome aboard. We will meet at the train station tomorrow morning. Please be prompt." Erza said.

'_Well, guess I'm not going on a job with the others after all…_' Ichigo thought.

_**Magnolia Train Station, The Next Day…**_

The party of warriors gathered just outside the train as pre the request of Erza. Currently Happy, Ichigo, and Lucy sat on a bench that was directly opposite to the tracks. If one were to ask them they were just acting as casual observers to the rather interesting spectacle that was unfolding directly in front of them, and said spectacle was none other than Natsu and Gray's patented version of dysfunctional teamwork.

"What was Erza thinkin', inviting you when me and Ichigo are really the only held she'd need." Natsu scoffed, butting heads with his fellow guild mate and practical rival.

"That's my line, and a weakling like you would just get in the way!" Gray barked, glaring daggers at the dragon slayer.

"Shouldn't you do something?" Lucy asked, turning to the orange-haired substitute for some kind of action to be taken.

"I thought Mira was the one who asked you to keep them from fighting." Happy stated from his position on the bench he and the others outside of the bitter rivals currently sat.

"She did…" Lucy trailed off, not entirely sure what else to say.

"Well then you aren't doing a very good job…" Happy pointed out.

"Not true, I asked Ichigo to stop them." Lucy defended.

"No, I'm not going to bother. I'll only stop them if they start to actually fight. I don't really see a problem with them angrily glaring at each other and throwing a few insults." Ichigo replied.

"But there are other people around…" Lucy stated.

"…and for all they know we've never met them before in our lives." Ichigo replied.

"I guess that makes sense." Lucy mused before looking back at the two bickering mages.

"Sorry I'm late. I hope you weren't waiting too long." Erza stated.

"No, not at all." Lucy answered cheerfully.

Everyone turned to face the scarlet-haired mage upon noticing her arrival, and upon doing so several things almost immediately happened. Happy, naturally, didn't do anything different. Natsu and Gray began to act as if they were the greatest friends in the entire universe for obvious reasons, and as for Lucy and Ichigo, they simply stared with wide eyes at the massive amount of luggage Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard had brought with her.

"Damn that's a lot of luggage." Ichigo exclaimed, staring with wide eyes at the literal cart that seemed to be half as wide as the train they were supposed to board.

"Aye." Happy chirped.

"Are you all ready to depart?" Erza questioned in a friendly manner.

"I'm good whenever everyone else is." Ichigo stated.

"Same here." Lucy and Gray said simultaneously.

"Hey Erza, I'll go with you, but only under one condition." Natsu stated, surprising several in the group.

"Shut up!" Gray quietly exclaimed.

"Oh? Well then lets here it." Erza said evenly.

"I want a rematch when we get back to Fairy Tail." Natsu stated, only adding to the shock of most everyone else.

"You got a death wish or something?" Gray asked, light concern in his voice given that he knew perfectly well what their mutual friend and guild mate was capable of.

"I'm a not stronger than I was last time, and this time's gonna be different cuz' I'm gonna beat you." Natsu proclaimed, grinning heavily at the prospect of fighting with one of Fairy Tail's strongest mages.

'_Huh, and here I thought he was terrified of her…_' Ichigo thought, not exactly understanding the logic, if any existed, that the dragon slayer was using.

"Yes… I can tell you've improved. As to whether or not you can beat me… I suppose we'll have to see. I accept your challenge." Erza replied, smirking slightly.

"All right! Now I'm all fired up!" Natsu exclaimed.

_**Aboard the Train, Some Time Later…**_

The train itself ran smoothly along the tracks as it was meant to. Within a specific section, each member of the group sat in silence, or in one particular instance quite a bit of pain. On the left side of the seats were Gray, Ichigo, and Natsu, while the lovely Fairy Tail ladies alongside Happy sat across from them.

'_I really don't get how he can have it this bad…_' Ichigo thought before frowning slightly as he looked down at the motion sick-stricken Natsu.

The dragon slayer had been so energetic just moments before they boarded the train, and yet now it was very clear that he was anything but. Just a second after it had started moving, he was down for the count in a matter of speaking.

"I swear you're totally pathetic Natsu. One minute you're pickin' a fight and the next you're like this." Gray stated as he looked out the window off to his side.

Ichigo half-expected a comeback from the pink-haired teen, but when it didn't come he only felt a bit more sympathy for his condition. If he had ever been in a similar situation with Uryu in that he wouldn't be able to talk back, he'd probably have pulled his hair out by now.

"It's gotta be tough on him getting from place to place." Lucy reasoned.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. Why don't you come over and sit with me?" Erza offered.

'_I guess she wants me to move over…_' Lucy thought, sweatdropping at the lack of request courtesy of Fairy Tail's queen.

"Aye…" Natsu groaned.

A moment later the fire dragon slayer moved across to the other side of the seating arrangements and placed himself to the immediate right of the scarlet-haired mage. An instant after that, said mage punched him in the gut and knocked him out cold.

"That should make the trip a little easier on him." Erza reasoned.

"You just knocked him out, you realize that right…" Ichigo trailed off confusedly, though the redheaded woman didn't seem to hear him.

'_Maybe she isn't as sane as I thought she was…_' Lucy thought.

"Anyway, I think it's time you started filling us in. I mean what kind of mission are we going on here?" Gray questioned.

"Of course…" Erza began, paying no mind that they were technically short one pair of ears.

'_He's knocked out… how can she not realize that?_' Ichigo thought.

The orange-haired teen had considered raising that point up again, but he actually wanted to know what was going on as well. Also it wasn't as if he couldn't tell Natsu about the mission later given that he would, eventually, wake up, or at least he hoped he would.

"I have reason to believe that the dark guild Eisenwald is planning something big. I'm not sure what exactly but it has to do with a magical item called Lullaby." Erza continued, though her words instantly struck everyone else with a sense of realization.

"Wait, Lullaby?" Ichigo asked, the name having disturbed him directly after he had heard it just two days ago.

"That thing from before?" Lucy wondered aloud, looking to both Ichigo and Gray for clarification.

"You've heard of it before?" Erza asked in a surprised tone.

"We ran into a group of wizards on our way back to Fairy Tail the other day. We were in the forest and they took Happy and tried to eat him. That didn't sit well with us, so we… well, really Ichigo was the one who fought them. Beat 'em pretty easily too, but when we tied them up they said something about Lullaby, and then that was it. Someone took them out of the picture a second alter." Gray explained.

"I see… so you've run into Eisenwald before." Erza mused.

"I'm not positive that they were a part of the guild, but they did mention Lullaby." Gray replied.

"The timing was too convenient. If they really were members of that dark guild then someone from Eisenwald clearly didn't want them talking to us." Ichigo stated.

"It sounds as if they were members of the guild that dropped out and went into hiding. Perhaps they wanted no part in what was coming." Erza guessed.

"So this thing's so bad it even scares dark wizards?" Gray reasoned.

"I am only hypothesizing. But whoever dragged off Happy's kidnappers the other day clearly didn't want their plans getting out." Erza stated.

"Still, we can't rule out that whatever is coming could be that bad. Ever since we've heard the name Lullaby I've just had a bad feeling." Ichigo said.

"I will explain starting at the beginning… I had stopped in Oniba at a local pub that was considered a gathering spot for local wizards. I overheard a conversation, and…" Erza began.

In the following minutes the scarlet-haired woman explained word for word what the nearby table of wizards had said, and the ominous feeling that she had when she had been listening. The name of Lullaby and a seal had come up multiple times, and even in one instance the name of a very wanted criminal in the magical world.

"Wait, so they were trying to unseal it?" Lucy reasoned.

"Yes, but the fact that it was sealed away means that it has to be extremely powerful magic." Erza replied.

"Wait, so are you positive that the guys you saw at the pub were actually with this dark guild we're going up against?" Ichigo asked with a quirked brow, instantly dampening the mood of the redheaded mage.

"Yes… I can't believe I was such a fool that day. I recognized the name they said… Erigor… the ace of Eisenwald. He only accepts assassination requests and that has earned him the title Erigor the Reaper." Erza replied.

"He kills for money?" Lucy asked fearfully.

"When the council outlawed assassination requests, Eisenwald decided that money was more important. They broke away and have been active ever since." Erza said.

"Okay, I should be heading back home now…" Lucy said fearfully, faux-tears streaming from her eyes.

"Lucy's slimy all of a sudden." Happy stated.

"It's sweat." Lucy growled.

"How could I have been so foolish? If I had recognized Erigor's name sooner I could have done something. Now we're in this situation and it is all my faulty." Erza stated, slamming her armored fist directly into the side of Natsu's head.

"Easy… you do realize his head isn't made of titanium? As for the Eisewald guild… if they really are as bad as you say, then we'll just have to take them down harder, right?" Ichigo reasoned, smirking slightly.

"Yes, I suppose you are." Erza said, smiling slightly given that this was exactly what she felt they needed to do.

"Still, all we know is that something big is probably going down." Gray stated.

"But at the same time we need to stop them because we don't have a choice. These Eisenwald people don't seem like the type that would care about innocent lives, so whatever it is that they have planned we can't assume they've got the people's best interests at heart." Ichigo said.

"Exactly, which is why we must stop them before they can do any harm." Erza added.

"Anyway, if we're done with this topic… what kind of magic do you use, Erza?" Lucy asked, curiosity currently winning out over her fear of the dark guild at the moment.

"That's a good question." Erza replied.

"Erza's magic is really pretty. She makes her enemies bleed… a lot." Happy said in an upbeat manner.

"I don't know if I'd call that pretty." Lucy replied.

"I don't know about that… personally I think Gray's magic is much more beautiful." Erza stated.

"What, like this?" Gray asked.

The black-haired teen extended his hands, one of his palms open and the other hand forming a fist atop the first. An instant later an icy mist surrounded his hands before he opened his fist shortly thereafter, revealing a perfectly formed ice-copy of the Fairy Tail guild mark.

"Oh wow!" Lucy exclaimed.

"I use ice magic." Gray stated.

"Now I get why you and Natsu don't get along. He's fire and your ice, not exactly the perfect mix." Lucy reasoned.

"I never thought about it like that." Erza said amusedly.

"Nah, I just hate his guts…" Gray stated.

"I'm gonna get up for a second. Someone make sure Natsu wakes up soon, alright?" Ichigo requested before getting up, likely heading towards a restroom or something along those lines.

Shortly after the orange-haired teen was out of ear reach a food cart came by their booth, at which point several purchases were made. Erza, in typical fashion, purchased a slice of strawberry cheese cake while Lucy purchased a few sandwiches and Happy just chose to munch on a fish.

"So when did you and Ichigo join the guild, Lucy?" Erza questioned, deciding to kill the short bit of time that remained until they reached their destination.

"We joined a few days ago, actually." Lucy answered.

"Oh, and what…" Erza began, only to stop as a message sounded from the conductor.

"_Attention all passengers, we have arrived at Oniba Station. Please exit calmly and efficiently._" The conductor requested.

"Alright, let's get going." Erza stated, immediately getting up and heading towards the doors of the railway-oriented vehicle.

"Wait, don't we…" Lucy began, only to stop given that everyone else had already left the booth, or so she thought.

The group made their way to the exit, immediately before which they ran into Ichigo as he himself was making his way back to their booth.

"Oh, perfect timing, let's go." Erza stated.

At this, the orange-haired teen raised a curious brow. He looked behind his guild mates to see if they were, indeed, short a member. Upon seeing that this was the case, he instantly brought up the subject, or at least he tried.

"But what about…" Ichigo began, only to be cut off.

"If you have questions, please ask them when we exit the train. We haven't a moment to lose." Erza stated.

"But I…" Ichigo said, only to stop upon the redheaded mage forcefully guiding him by extending her arms and very much so encouraging a speedy exit.

_**Outside the Train, A Minute Later…**_

The group exited the train despite the fact that Ichigo desperately wanted to say something. When this had finally happened, Erza smiled contentedly and took in a deep breath of fresh air.

"Finally, now we can start on our mission." Erza stated happily.

The scarlet-haired knight was now under the impression that they could immediately get to work and erase her previous error in judgment. However, she had overlooked something rather obvious.

"Wait, where's Natsu?" Gray wondered aloud.

The train's horn sounded off a second later upon its route resuming, which drew the glance of everyone in the group. In that instant they each realized, or rather everyone save for Ichigo realized, that they had made great error.

"Uh-oh, there he goes." Happy muttered, waving goodbye towards the train as it zipped away.

"I was so busy talking I forgot about him. I am such a fool, Natsu hates all forms of transportation." Erza said, mentally berating herself for such an obvious error.

"This is what I was trying to say dammit! I even told you before I left to wake him up!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"You are correct and I am truly sorry. You may strike me down if you wish." Erza offered, bowing her head slightly towards the orange-haired teen.

The redheaded mage closed her eyes a moment later, evidently bracing for the hit that she expected to come. However, Ichigo had absolutely no intention of doing so. In fact if she didn't appear so serious he would have thought it was a complete joke.

"Yeah, I'm not gonna hit you. I do have to go get Natsu though… Lucy, could you…" Ichigo began.

"Yup, I know the drill." Lucy answered with an amused giggle, eliciting a nod of understanding from the substitute.

Erza's eyes widened slightly at this, mostly because she didn't understand two things. One, how the orange-haired man was going to catch up to a train, and two what Lucy had to do with it.

She assumed that, perhaps, his magic was speed related, and even that would also explain how he continuously took down multiple foes with ease, but she was proven incorrect shortly after such thoughts passed through her head.

Before Erza's very eyes, the brown-eyed teen grabbed a trinket that looked similar to a wooden skull, after which she thought, briefly, that she had double vision. One Ichigo appeared to split into two. However, the one that she had been familiar with fell back into the arms of the blonde celestial mage. The other version prepared to move out, black-clad in a shihakusho and a large cleaver-like sword strapped on its back covered with white cloth.

'_What on Earthland is this?_' Erza wondered curiously.

The orange-haired teen began to make tremendous leaps forward, heading towards the train without any delay. His strides went beyond pure speed as it appeared he continuously accelerated by using his feet and timing his leaps so as to cover a great deal of ground with each stride. What was more interesting was that every time his feet would come into contact with the ground a force would be applied that was large enough to noticeably crack the rocks beneath his feet.

"What kind of magic is that?" Erza exclaimed in a surprised fashion, having never seen anything like it.

"Ichigo doesn't use magic, he's not even from this world!" Happy exclaimed.

"Are you mocking me Happy?" Erza questioned with a slight glare, a dark aura surrounding her as she stared down at the cat.

"Actually, no, he isn't." Gray stated, coming to the defense of his companion.

Erza turned to look at her raven-haired comrade with an equally angered look, but upon seeing that he actually was being deadly serious she calmed herself and became quite confused.

"Explain yourself please." Erza requested.

"Well, you see, Ichigo is…" Lucy began.

_**Aboard the Train, With Natsu…**_

"Gah… I… BLEH! I hate my… life…" Natsu groaned from the floor of the train.

He had tried desperately to make it out of the booth, but unfortunately he didn't have a follow-up plan. Fate just seemed to be a cruel mistress to the friendly dragon slayer at the moment.

"Well what do we have here?" An arrogant-sounding voice asked to seemingly no one in particular.

'_Who's that?_' Natsu wondered confusedly.

Although he didn't know who exactly this man was, he suddenly no longer required that information upon the man's foot coming into contact with his face. He was positive that at the very least this guy was no friend of his.

"You little Fairy's are nothing more than ants to us, blindly following the Magic Council like little insects." He sneered.

In a fit of both rage and determination the dragon slayer pushed the man's foot off of his face, in essence creating a bit of space for himself and simultaneously getting a good look at the person who had so rudely insulted him and his guild.

The man who stood across from him had spikey black hair wrapped in a band, black eyes, and a cocky disposition. He wore a pure white overcoat overtop dark-red t-shirt, teal-colored pants, and standard-looking black shoes.

"Listen buddy, don't go talkin' smack about my guild unless ya wanna get hurt." Natsu warned, his fists lighting up with fire as he spoke.

An instant later the transport shifted slightly and even that slight movement caused the dragon slayer to stumble and nearly lose the contents of his stomach. His threatening demeanor disappeared just as quickly as his flaming fists in the wake of his crippling motion sickness.

"Hit a nerve did I?" The man questioned in an amused voice.

"Shut up!" Natsu barked.

"Hehehe… let me show you how it's done." The man sneered.

Beneath his feet three shadowy tendrils made their way through the wooded floor and popped back up only when they were close enough to land a clean hit directly on the pink-haired dragon slayer.

Natsu was helpless at the moment and as a result couldn't do anything but allow the attack to hit him, subsequently after which he landed on his side flat on the wooden floor of the train.

"Not so tough now, are ya?" He scoffed, the shadow-manifested arms twirling around his being.

In the next instant, before the dark wizard could mount another successfully attack, the train came to a complete stop, thereby causing him to fall flat on his face. Out of his pocket, a small wooden flute like object with a skull dominantly showing on its end fell, landing on the floor half-way between the two.

"What the hell was that?" The raven-haired man wondered aloud.

_**Back at Oniba Station…**_

"Ma'am, you can't just pull the emergency lever without permission." A station worker stated.

"It's for our comrades, please understand." Erza replied.

"Are you kidding me?!" The man exclaimed.

_**Back on the Train…**_

"What the heck is that thing?" Natsu wondered aloud, seeing the odd-looking flute that had flown out of the white-clad man's pocket.

"Damn, he saw it." The man stated in an annoyed tone.

He instantly ran over to the flute and grabbed it, quickly putting it back into his pocket before he opted to face the Fairy Tail wizard once again. It was very clear that he would have to eliminate him, otherwise this could very well get out of hand.

Abruptly, however, the roof of the train was smashed into by an unknown arrival. The wood sporadically flying around the nearby area caused the black-haired man to bring up his forearm to protect his eyes, after which he got a glimpse of an orange-haired teen standing just below the fresh hole in the ceiling with his back facing him.

'_What's with that getup?_' He wondered confusedly.

"Hey, Natsu, are you alright? I sensed something weird here, so I…" Ichigo began, only to stop upon seeing the dragon slayer point directly behind him.

He turned to see the white-clad man and immediately after this he scowled heavily. The presence of this particular wizard was something he was familiar with, or at the very least he knew he had sensed it before. It was the very same as the one he felt the other day when those dark wizards were taken away before they could say anything more about Lullaby.

"Just who the hell are you?" The man sneered.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, who the hell are you?" Ichigo replied.

"Name's Kageyama, and that's all you Fairy Tail flies are gettin' out of me." Kage stated matter-of-factly.

"I've sensed you before… you were the one from…" Ichigo began.

The train began to move once again, cutting off Ichigo's speech and also giving a certain dragon slayer a desperate need to leave the vehicle as soon as was physically possible.

"We don't have time for this Ichigo! We need to get outa here and meet up with Erza." Natsu stated.

"Wait Natsu, we…" Ichigo began, only to be cut off yet again by the form of a dimwitted action.

Without any warning the dragon slayer grabbed Ichigo's arm and jumped out the closest window of the now moving train. It appeared that he had actually been unconscious, otherwise he would've likely known or at least taken a hint that the black-haired wizard had been with Eisenwald.

"Aaaaaaaa!" Natsu yelled as he continued to fly through the air, the train zipping past them as they did so.

'_Wait, what the hell is that thing?_' Ichigo wondered.

Something very similar to a car was currently flying towards them at impressive speeds. He could tell that Erza was currently the driver, but despite this she didn't seem have any intent of stopping upon seeing them fly towards the vehicle. In fact, it was going so fast that it appeared it was going to collide with them in a few seconds.

"Crap!" Ichigo exclaimed.

When the car-like vehicle did, in fact, collide with him and Natsu, he had actually been the fortunate one. The dragon slayer had, in a fashion typical of him, collided with Gray on the roof of the odd-looking form of transportation. Ichigo, on the other hand, had been lucky enough to stabilize himself and grab onto the side of the car, thus preventing him from landing in any horrible manner.

"Erza, stop the magic mobile!" Lucy exclaimed from within the vehicle, obviously knowing full well that Gray was no longer on the roof.

The car came to an abrupt stop on its side a moment later, which caused Ichigo to fly forwards given that he didn't have a good grip on the magic mobile to begin with. Fortunately he only landed on his side, and he had dealt with a lot worse in terms of landings before. Natsu and Gray, on the other hand, had not been so lucky. Both appeared as if they saw stars if their dazed expressions were anything to go by.

"Natsu, are you okay?" Ichigo called out, getting himself off of the ground and dusting himself off.

"Aye…" Natsu groaned.

_**Some Time Later…**_

"That hurt you idiot!" Gray exclaimed once the group had gathered outside the magic mobile.

"What the hell was I supposed to do? It's your fault for being on the roof in the first place." Natsu countered.

"Aye." Happy said in agreement.

"In any case, I'm just glad you're alright." Erza stated.

"Wait, you guys remembered to bring my body into that… magic mobile thing, right?" Ichigo asked, knowing full well that this group in particular already had a trend of forgetting things.

"Of course, we would never leave behind a comrade." Erza stated, though her words drew a deadpanned expression from both Natsu and Ichigo.

"Right… anyway… WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING NATSU?!" Ichigo exclaimed, much to the surprise of everyone present.

"W-what?" Natsu stuttered.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?!" Ichigo shouted, clearly annoyed at the pink-haired dragon slayer.

"All I did was jump out a train, what's the big deal? Everyone's alright, and we have a job to do so we couldn't afford to waste time." Natsu said defensively, though his answer caused a tick mark to appear on the substitute's forehead.

"That guy back there on the train was the same one from the forest that got away." Ichigo stated in an annoyed tone.

"What?!" Everyone else shouted in unison.

"You mean the random guy that attacked me? But all he did was insult our guild so I thought he was just pickin' a fight. But there was this weird flute thing with a skull on it that he dropped at one point…" Natsu said, tapping his chin in thought.

"Natsu, you just allowed one of our enemies to escape due to your own stupidity. Have you anything to say for yourself?" Erza said, clearly agitated.

"Wait, who are we even fighting?!" Natsu shouted confusedly.

"Don't you ever listen?! I swear you have the world worst memory!" Erza exclaimed, smacking the dragon slayer upside the head as she spoke.

"It's your fault in the first place he didn't hear you, remember, you knocked him out!" Ichigo shouted, not understanding how the scarlet-haired mage didn't realize that.

Erza turned with a somewhat surprised expression that suggested she realized her mistake. Immediately thereafter she bowed her head to the orange-haired teen and shut her eyes before next she spoke.

"I apologize for my insolence. You may strike me down for my penance." Erza said in a serious voice.

"No, I'm not going to hit you Erza… why don't you just fill Natsu in on what's going on while I go get into my body, then we should probably go after that train. I could tell that guy was the same one from the forest, and if that's the case then he is probably in Eisenwald, or at the very least he knows about whatever they have planned." Ichigo suggested.

"That seems as if it is the best course of action." Erza conceded, nodding in agreement.

The scarlet-haired woman picked up on the fact that Ichigo implied he was going to reenter his human body, which actually made her a bit more curious than she already had been. Previously, Lucy had explained the teen's situation among a few other things, and she had quite a few questions about him given that everything about the blonde's transfer of information was almost unbelievable.

_**Flashback…**_

"I see… and does the master believe he was speaking the truth?" Erza asked in a serious tone, keeping her confusion and surprise very well hidden for the moment.

"Yeah, and to be honest I'm coming around myself. Even if it does sound idiotic, and even though Natsu believes it, I really am starting to think it's true." Gray stated, growling slightly at the mention of the dragon slayer's name.

"When we first met him he appeared directly out of the sky, and I've seen him do things that no magic I've seen is capable of." Lucy added.

Erza hummed in thought for a moment, a serious look on her features. It was true that even she, in the short time she had known the orange-haired teen, had seen something that isn't any form of magic in existence. The ability to shed a body was in the way he seemed capable of was completely unreal, but also incredibly fascinating at the same time.

Moreover, when he took on his black-clad form, she felt a certain aura emanating off of him. It was very clear that it was some form of energy, but at the same time she hadn't the slightest idea of what that energy was. In truth it was similar to magic energy, but at the same time it wasn't.

"I understand. For now we must try to stop that train in order to allow Ichigo to grab Natsu." Erza stated.

"You're taking all this really well…" Lucy commented, noticing the calm demeanor of the female mage had yet to change.

"While I may not know a single thing about the 'Soul Society' or what a 'Substitute Soul Reaper' is, I will not allow my curiosity or personal confusion get in the way of our current objectives. Any questions I have for him can wait until after the task at hand is complete." Erza answered.

It was after this that she had caught sight of an emergency stop switch over on the far side of the room. In actuality it was incredibly devoid of guards and very clearly labeled. However, that did allow her an easy opportunity to stop the train. Thus, her conversation ended and she walked off.

_**Current Time…**_

"Alright Natsu, pay attention this time…" Erza began.

On his way back to the car, Ichigo's eyebrow twitched at the words of Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard. Even now she still didn't seem to register that it had been her fault the dragon slayer didn't hear her the first time, which was all the more shocking because she had just asked to be hit in order for penance.

'_She really is insane…_' Ichigo thought.

_**Some Time Later…**_

"This ride is…" Ichigo began.

The magic mobile, with the next instant, swerved off to the side and jumped a good three feet off the ground, rattling those within it and causing Natsu to release an elongated groan given that his stomach was definitely not in the best of shapes.

"…a little bumpy." Ichigo finished, hanging on to the railing as he spoke.

"At least you're not on the roof." Gray commented from atop the vehicle.

"How you holding up Gray?" Ichigo asked, looking up at the ceiling of the vehicle. He couldn't see the ice mage, but all the same it was the thought that counted.

"Just peachy." Gray replied sarcastically.

"What about you Nats…" Ichigo began, only to stop upon actually looking down at the dragon slayer.

Natsu was currently on the floor of the vehicle with his eyes practically rolled into the back of his head and his face turning a light shade of green. His current condition was actually worse now than it was on the train, but that was to be expected given that they were going even faster now than they had been on the railway-oriented vehicle.

"You alright Lucy?" Ichigo asked, noticing the blonde's pensive look.

"It's just that the name Lullaby… and the look of the flute you guys told us about… I know it from somewhere." Lucy stated.

"Then you should tell us at once! If you have any helpful information at all then we will need it to be victorious." Erza stated as she drove the care.

"What she said." Gray added.

"I don't know exactly how it works… but I think I remember Lullaby, the cursed song. It's a type of Death Magic." Lucy explained, sounding worried.

"Wait, so that means that Erigor…" Ichigo began.

"Is planning to use it to kill innocent people!" Erza exclaimed, cutting off her comrade.

If it was at all possible, the vehicle began to move faster, likely reaching its maximum speed, or so it seemed. Natsu's face, with the increase in the vehicles speed, predictably, turned even greener than it already had in the wake of their even quicker traveling speed.

"I'm… ugg… in hell…" Natsu groaned out.

The vehicle hit yet another bump and flew into the air once again for a brief period of time, bouncing a few times upon coming back into contact with the ground. This was, naturally, accompanied by another moan from Natsu, who really couldn't catch a break today.

"Slow down Erza! You're using too much magic energy!" Gray exclaimed worriedly from atop the roof.

"If I do end up wasting too much then I will just have to rely on the rest of you to complete the mission." Erza replied.

The words of both the ice mage and the redheaded knight caused something to click in Ichigo's head. If magic energy was somehow used in powering the vehicle, that would also mean that Erza was somehow filtering her power into the vehicle.

'_And if that's the case… then I might be able to test something._' Ichigo thought.

In his mind an opportunity presented itself to see just how similar magical energy was to spiritual energy. The worst case scenario, in his mind, was that his spirit energy didn't power the vehicle and they come to a momentary stop, but even then he still got to confirm or disprove his own little theory.

"Lucy, make sure my body doesn't fall around too much." Ichigo requested.

"Huh?" Lucy exclaimed.

Before she could even ask a coherent question Ichigo had already grabbed his Combat Pass and separated his two forms. Without another word of warning he opened the door and climbed up onto the roof, leaving the blonde speechless and confused.

"What the hell?" Gray wondered aloud upon seeing the orange-haired teen exit the vehicle.

"Sorry Gray, but you mind moving over? I wanted to ask Erza something." Ichigo stated.

"Umm… alright." Gray replied.

The ice mage was actually quite confused as to why Ichigo had dawned his Soul Reaper form without a word of warning only to randomly walk onto the roof of the magic mobile. However, he assumed that it was something of importance since he didn't really seem like the type to just do things like that. Of course there was always the possibility that Natsu's stupidity had started to rub off of the orange-haired teen, but that was the more distant of the two possibilities.

"What is it that you wanted to ask of me?" Erza questioned, glancing back as opposed to keeping her eyes on the road.

"I wanted to ask you how this thing works. You said something about magical energy, so do you filter it into the magic mobile somehow?" Ichigo questioned.

"Yes, that is correct. I attach this pump onto my forearm and it drains my magical energy to power the vehicle." Erza answered evenly.

At this the substitute began to hum in thought. The location of the pump seemed to be in line with his thoughts given that he knew that it was located near the exact point where one of the spiritual outlets of Soul Reapers was located. He recalled such things from Urahara's encounter with Aizen, and the secret weapon that the shopkeeper had opted to use.

"I see… do you mind if I try powering it for a while? I want to test something that's been bugging me a bit." Ichigo requested.

"Hmm… very well, I would appreciate it if I was given a small break. I will continue to steer, however." Erza replied.

An instant later Ichigo followed the redhead's instructions as to how he would remove to pump from her arm and shortly thereafter he hooked it onto his own. During this time the pump itself had been shut down, though the car still moved due to the amount of magical energy Erza had previously been putting into it.

"Are you ready?" Erza questioned, looking back towards the substitute for confirmation.

"Yeah, go for it." Ichigo replied.

The scarlet-haired mage then turned the pump back on, believing that nothing abnormal would happen. At worst nothing would happen, and at that point they could just switch places once again, meaning who would use the pump to power the vehicle. However, something unexpected did, indeed, happen.

Shortly after the pump was turned on, the car began to shoot off into the distance at speeds twice as fast as it had been previously moving.

Erza could feel the force of the wind hitting her like a ton of bricks while Ichigo and Gray were forced to hang on to the railings to avoid flying backwards and landing on some random spot of dirt, though only one of them had faux-tears in his eye as a result of the sudden increase in speed.

Within the car, however, only banging noises could be heard, likely due to the fact that its inhabitants were being thrown around like pinballs in a machine. Luckily there were not sounds of a certain dragon slayer vomiting, so that was a positive.

"What the hell?!" Gray exclaimed as the car continued to zoom off at unbelievable speeds.

"EEEEEEEEEEP!" Lucy squealed from within the magic mobile.

"Erza shut the pump off!" Ichigo exclaimed, obviously not wanting to continue the trend of making the vehicle a death trap.

"No! Whatever you're doing, keep it up. We're moving too quickly to pass up this opportunity! I will continue to steer, you just continue linking yourself to the magic mobile." Erza stated.

In a brief period of time, though it felt like an eternity to Natsu, the group had started to come up to a nearby cliff that overlooked a city. Given the speed of the magical vehicle, it was nearly impossible to turn, therefore leaving them with only one option.

"Erza, we won't be able to turn, just shut off the pump!" Gray exclaimed.

A second later the scarlet-haired mage released a grunt of annoyance at the fact that they were about to stop, but nevertheless she knew what had to be done. The second after she shut off the pump she slammed her foot on the breaks, effectively destroying a good portion of their chosen roadway as she did so.

As a result of this, Erza recoiled in the driver's seat, Lucy, Natsu, and presumably Ichigo's body hit the far wall of the vehicle's interior with a loud bang, and Ichigo and Gray flung forward at high speeds due to the fact that, while the care had lost its momentum, they hadn't lost theirs.

Ichigo was fortunate enough to have the capability of using his spiritual pressure to stabilize himself and momentarily glide in the air before flipping his body and gracefully landing on the ground. Gray, however, was not so lucky, as evident by the fact that he slammed into a nearby rock formation. At the same time that was preferable to being thrown down the cliff, but it still wasn't something he wanted to do in the first place.

"Alright… is everyone okay?" Erza asked, being the first to speak.

"I'm still alive… I think…" Gray replied in a dazed voice.

"Same here." Lucy called from within the magic mobile.

An instant later one of the vehicle's doors flew open, after which a certain pink-haired dragon slayer flew out and landed face first on the rocky and dust covered terrain. It was all too likely that he didn't even feel the impact of his fall given that he looked to be out cold. However momentary groans escaped his lips every so often.

"Uggggg…" Natsu moaned out.

"I think Natsu's broken!" Happy exclaimed worriedly, looking down at his best friend from inside the magic mobile.

"If he's still breathing then he's fine… but I think we could all use a few minutes of rest for the time being." Erza stated before slumping back into her driver's seat, taking a deep breath as she did so.

"Lucy, is my body still in one piece?" Ichigo asked as he walked over to help Gray out of the rock formation. The impact had ironically caused the ice mage to become embedded into the stone like a geological imprint.

"I think so…" Lucy replied.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

Ichigo then removed Gray from within the side of the large rock, after which he threw the black-haired wizard over his shoulder and began to walk back to the car, feeling that he should at least do that for his comrade given his current condition was inadvertently his own fault.

"By the way, Ichigo, what was that just now? No matter how much magical energy the pump absorbs it should only be able to go a certain speed." Erza stated, opening her eyes and staring curiously at the orange-haired substitute.

It was at this point that Ichigo realized he had never actually informed the scarlet-haired woman about what had happened to him and why he was now a member of Fairy Tail. Despite the fact that he desperately didn't want to have a long conversation about that fact due to his belief it would lead her to believe he was crazy, one way or another it had to happen if they were working together.

"To explain that, I guess I should first tell you that… I'm uh… I don't think I ever actually told you about my situation. I'm…" He continued, only to interrupted.

"I was informed back at the train station by Lucy and Gray. While I am both confused and curious, I trust the master's judgment and believe our current task is more important than any discussions about your background." Erza stated maturely.

That actually surprised the substitute a great deal given that he could tell that her words were true. In a way he was impressed by her composure, and she may very well have reacted the most ideally out of anyone he had told outside of Natsu. It did bring into question her sanity in that she so readily believed his 'story', but that was another matter entirely.

"Um… anyway, what I did was a terrible idea and I won't do it again. As for why that happened, I think it had something to do with the fact that magic energy and the type of power that I have are different from one another." Ichigo replied.

"I see… I will not inquire about this further, but we do need to get going now. If you don't mind, please put Gray and Natsu in the car and take Gray's previous spot on the roof. I doubt he is in a condition to retake that position." Erza said.

Ichigo nodded his head in understanding, after which he walked back to the car with the raven-haired ice make user still thrown over his shoulder. Shortly thereafter he put Gray, carefully, into the car and then did the same for Natsu, all the while his thoughts being elsewhere.

'_Well… at least this confirms what I had suspected._' Ichigo thought.

His little experiment had, in essence, shown him that magical energy and spiritual energy were remotely similar. The only downside to the experiment had been that he in no way expected the magic mobile to react that way to spirit energy. He had only hoped for it to move at the same rate Erza desired it to, but it went far and beyond that.

It appeared that though the two energies were similar, spiritual energy packed a bit more of a punch. He just wished he had thought of that possibility beforehand because if that were the case he wouldn't have picked here and now as the time to test it.

'_Still, it's really strange to think about. I wonder what Kisuke would make of this… damn, now I know I've lost it when I start to try and get into that lunatic's head._' Ichigo thought.

_**Kunugi Station, Some Time Later…**_

A hoard of dark wizard began to order passengers off of the recently stopped train like slave drivers. They threw everything off of it, following the orders of their most infamous member to the letter.

Watching the entire course of events take place was none other than Erigor the Reaper. He was a fairy tall man with silver hair, black eyes, and a melancholy look about him. He wore only a black scarf on his upper body and what appeared to be torn rags of black, tan, and light purple colors.

He also sported a great deal of ink on his skin, mainly the series of tattoos covering his upper body in spiraling flame-like patterns and what seemed to be a chain-link tattoo running up his abdomen. Standard sandals covered his feet, and he sported a rather lengthy scythe that he carelessly hung across his shoulders as he continued to observe the passengers forceful removal with a scowl.

"Get everything off of the train. Luggage, people, conductors, I want it all gone. If anyone tries to defy us, kill them all." Erigor ordered commandingly.

His subordinates obeyed without delay, speeding up the process just by the simple sound of the reaper's voice. No one dared to ignore the order, and simply doing nothing after he spoke was a sure fire way to end up dead and quickly.

"Well looks whose here." Kage said as he got out from one of the train's sections, specifically the highly damaged one. Currently there was a hole in the ceiling and in the wall of that particular cart, which annoyed the reaper to no end.

"Kageyama, I heard you were coming back aboard this train. There's quite a bit of wreckage, care to explain why?" Erigor asked, growling slightly as he got a good look at the cart's condition.

"Come on, aren't you interested to see what I brought back with me?" Kage asked in a cocky manner.

The raven-haired dark wizard reached into his overcoat's pocket, after which he pulled out a flute that caused Erigor's previously aggravated demeanor to fade in the wake of a sickening smirk.

"I finally managed to break the seal." Kage added before handing off the wooden death flute to his superior.

"Excellent, simply excellent." Erigor stated with evil pleasure.

"Is that it?" One of the members nearby asked.

"Yes, this is it men, the forbidden Lullaby. Originally it was a tool to capture simply death spells, making it limited. That is until the great dark wizard Zeref turned it into a demon flute. Now it's song will kill hundreds, thousands, all at once, and now it's all mine." Erigor stated before he began to laugh evilly.

**A/N Not really much else to say, other than a reminder that the next chapter will be posted on Monday. **

_**Explanations**_:

**Ichigo's Power Level**: So a lot of people keep bringing this up, and I suppose I will say a little bit on this. I have yet to decide exactly how powerful he is, but I'd say that when he uses his Bankai, meaning that he is at full power, he is stronger than every member of Fairy Tail, handily stronger than the S-Class mages, and a decent amount stronger than Makarov. That isn't to say he's invincible because he cannot beat people like Guildarts, Makarov, or Erza while using exclusively his Shikai and they are going all out, but overall he would still win in a fight. Also, this doesn't mean I believe the Fairy Tail wizards are weak, but rather Ichigo is just that strong. In terms of captains, the only ones who were stronger than him after the Ginjo incident were Yamamoto, Shunsui, Unohana, and Ukitake, who are the four strongest captains in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. So for any of you who think I am implying the Fairy Tail wizards are weak, I most certainly am not, because there S-Class wizards do outclass a few of the captains and all of the lieutenants. Oh, just a note, I am saying this as a reference to their power levels BEFORE the Quincy arc and AFTER the Ginjo incident.

**Will Natsu Get A Romantic Partner?**: A reviewer brought this up, and I figured I would just let everyone know this, but Natsu will also get a pairing in this fic, though it will not be something that is paid _all_ too much attention to for obvious reasons. However, I do plan on giving him one, and of course I will not say who.

**Why didn't I have Ichigo explain to Erza about his situation first thing?**: The reason for that is simple, I just think it writes better this way. Rest assured they will talk more on the subject later, and I think the way I do it works out rather well, but for now I want to focus more on the conflict with Eisenwald.

**Why Not Have Ichigo Just Take Down Kage Instantaneously?**: Simple, that would be boring, even if he could have very easily done it…

**Why is Erza So Calm**: The way I picture it, if Makarov believes it, Erza would trust his judgment. She does have a great sense of curiosity about him at the moment, but that will have to wait because a death flute needs to be caught.

**What's Next? **Pretty much the incident at Oshibana station and then following that I've got something planned ;)

_**Reviews**_:

**DarkPirateKing69**: Given that no one knows yet just how strong Ichigo is, to them at least it's impressive because he didn't use magic whatsoever or any weapons. Wizards do often rely on magic, after all.

**Monkeybutt98**: Ichigo is in my mind stronger than any of the Fairy Tail members when he is at full power, meaning when he uses his Bankai. He is handily stronger than all of the S-Class mages, but by no means can he beat them all one on one in five seconds or anything like that. Makarov would probably be the closest equivalent, and I could even see Gildarts being sort-of up there as well but his real power level is really not seen all that much so it's hard to tell with him. Also I hope the update schedule isn't too bad because when the chapters are a bit longer I require a week instead of a few days xD.

**TheNightingale13**: She will continue to have a presence in this story from time to time, but at the beginning it is hard to work her in.

**Vakom Sunrunner**: That is both something I know the answer to and won't tell you ;P

**Im Not Itachi**: Yup, that's kinda where I am headed. Still, there interactions will continuously grow in the next few chapters.

**CourtingTheMoon**: All of the arcs up to the Tenrou Island Incident will be included, _if_, and I am saying _if_ here, it were to say… go past that, maybe ;P, anything else written would be completely original on my part. Also, Natsu will have a romantic partner in this fic… and of course I won't say who.

**SpartanPrime101**: It will be more than one when that time comes. When that will be, I do not have a definitive answer.

**Zaralann**: Of course he wouldn't be submissive, he's Ichigo Kurosaki after all, and no he wouldn't technically sense the soul of the demon because it _isn't_ a soul. Demons are created from living magic and are not technically souls; however some and maybe all of them do consume souls in the Fairy Tail universe. That is my understanding, at least. BUT, I do plan on doing something creative as the final confrontation with the oversized giant flute, and that will nicely lead into the future chapters.

**hollow96**: I will just outright say that there is no reason whatsoever that _at some point_ he would be able to regain the ability to use his mask ;P. He, however, does not have it at the moment definitively. The hollow form taking over? Well, aren't you the one who can see into the somewhat distant future ;). Also, his hollow and Soul Reaper powers were restored in unison because they are the same thing as a result of his zanpakuto spirit _actually _being his inner hollow, and his Quincy powers never vanished in the first place, they were just completely dormant.

**ultima-owner**: Soon… very soon…

**ruben00**: I am terribly sorry, but I don't really understand your question…

**Falcon**: Eventually, perhaps. I have something planned, so rest assured of that.

**LeroyallenXnaruto**: In this story, Ichigo will not have the dual-wield zanpakuto. Will that happen in the sequel/the next story I do? I am not really sure because I am on the fence with the new swords, which is my personal preference but we'll wait and see. Also, the crutch is necessary because it allows for me to write the story to be a bit more interesting on certain occasions, which will kind of show in the future.

**Examine Draco**: Meh, your calculations have the potential to be correct, but the fun is in the anticipation, as they say. Oh, and I will add that there will be other possible interests other than Mirajane and Erza, one of whom will show up soon and one of whom will not actually be implemented as a potential love interest until the third installment of this series, which yes will happen because I do think that far ahead.

**KO**: Technically this will be IchigoxTwoFemales and possibly a third if backed by overwhelming popular demand. In regards to Mira though… we'll see, wont we? ;)


	10. Showdown at Oshibana

**A/N Just wanted to start off by saying that yay, this story hit the top five with Ichigo listed as a character in less than one month's time! I'd like to say thanks to everyone who's supported me so far and I hope I can continue to make this story good. Only other thing I really have to say is that the next chapter will be posted next Monday since the last two were a bit long and the next one will likely be long as well. **

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 10**

_**Clover: Guild Master's Conference**_

The building in which each and every guild master across the land currently gathered sparked with liveliness. For people who were presumably of an advanced age, they most certainly were capable of laying back and having a drink or two.

"I'm so jealous Makky, all your wizards are so full of life, and they're such cutie-pies." An effeminate bald man named Bob stated. He, incidentally, was the guild master of the Blue Pegasus guild, and was, in fact, a man.

"I heard you got a girl who gave some big shot quite the spanking, and that one boy who took down the human traffickers is already building up some praise for your guild." He continued.

"Oh, that must be Lucy, and the second is Ichigo… hehe, they are our latest recruits, and the one girl has a body that just won't quit." Makarov commented perversely, causing the effeminate guild master he was conversing with to coo as a result.

"I wouldn't be joking around like that…" A man called out as he approached.

Makarov turned his sights to see that the owner of the voice was none other than the guild master of the Quatro Cerberus guild. The man had somewhat tan skin, fairly long blonde hair, and a scowl on his face. He currently wore sunglasses, standard-looking clothing, but the strangest thing about him was the spiked dog collar he sported around his neck.

"Your wizard might be spirited but ya gotta admit they go overboard sometimes. Some of the council members are saying that Fairy Tail is going to destroy an entire city one of these days, and I don't really blame 'em." Goldmine stated.

"Ah let those blowhards think what they want, what do I care? They're just jealous that my wizards are hot." Makarov replied, a drunken blush slightly forming on his cheeks.

"Oh Makky, you shouldn't talk about your wizards that way, you're such a scoundrel." Bob commented.

"I've also got someone from another world! There ain't a guild in Fiore that can top that!" Makarov exclaimed cheerfully before taking another sip of his drink.

"How much have you had to drink again?" Goldmine asked with a raised brow.

"Message for Master Makarov!" A blue carrier bird chirped as it entered the room, a letter being safely secured by its feet.

"Oh, a letter?" Makarov wondered aloud before taking the object in his hand.

"It's from Mrs. Mirajane sir." The bird stated.

"Well thank you." Makarov said as he uncaringly looked at the letter.

"No problem!" The bird stated cheerfully before flying off.

The elderly mage traced his finger around the seal of the letter, after which the magical properties activated, revealing a hologram image of the very same barmaid that had sent the letter in the first place.

"_Hi Master Makarov, I'm glad that you made it to the conference safe and sound._" Mirajane began, smiling brightly as she always did.

"See, this is what I'm talkin' about. This is Mirajane, she's the poster girl of our guild. Grab some eye candy boys!" Makarov stated cheerfully, addressing the mass of surrounding guild masters.

"Wow, she's a cutie." Bob commented, clasping his hands together.

"That's Mirajane? It's been a while since I've seen her. She sure has matured." Goldmine commented.

"_Oh master, you aren't going to believe what happened! It might be the greatest thing in the history of Fairy Tail!_" Mirajane cheered overdramatically.

"Really?" Makarov asked confusedly.

"_Erza took Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Ichigo out on a mission! A pretty amazing combination huh? In fact I think they might've formed one of the greatest teams Fairy Tail's ever seen. Sorry to interrupt, but I just had to tell you the news._" Mirajane stated, after which the hologram vanished.

Makarov began to sweat bullets and his skin went pale at the those words being said. Perhaps Lucy was a blooming celestial wizard who didn't seem like the type capable of destroying excessive amounts of property, but Erza, Natsu, and Gray were proven to be capable of such things. Then there was Ichigo, a man that he didn't know the full capabilities of. He just knew the kid was strong, but how strong he didn't know.

"Not them…" Makarov squealed out in a low voice, after which he fell flat on his back, landing on the very table he had been standing on.

"What's wrong Makky?" Bob asked with a touch of concern making its way into his voice.

"I guess the council really does have a reason to be worried." Goldmine mused.

'_I can't believe this is happening. Those three alone really could destroy a city…_' Makarov thought.

The conference was nearly over after today, so he figured he would be able to make it back to Fairy Tail soon enough. He just had to pray they didn't actually destroy an entire city. If that were to happen, not even his patented brand of misdirecting charm would be able to salvage the situation.

_**Peak Overlooking the Train tracks, With Ichigo and the others…**_

"So that's the train those dark wizards hijacked?" Ichigo asked, looking down at the railway from within the magic mobile.

"Yes, with any luck we will be able to reach Oshibana station and stop them from completing whatever it is they are planning to do." Erza replied.

"I could understand cars and boats, but why'd they want to highjack a train?" Lucy wondered aloud.

"It doesn't really seem like a good getaway vehicle." Happy added.

"Well since a train is used primarily because it is fast we can assume that they only need to get to the one place. That means that whatever they have planned will probably go down where that train stops." Ichigo reasoned.

"All the more reason to hurry up." Erza stated before speeding off, the groans of a certain dragon slayer accompanying the continued motion of the magic mobile.

_**Aboard the Train…**_

"Gah!" Kage exclaimed, jumping backwards and narrowly avoiding death by the hand of the reaper's scythe.

They were nearing their destination as they spoke, but at the moment Erigor was extremely displeased with their situation. No one was supposed to know about Lullaby, and yet thanks to the man he recently attempted to cut into several individuals, and members of the Fairy Tail guild no less, knew of their plans.

"Let me get this straight, you allowed a Fairy to see the Lullaby flute and then let him get away? Is that true?!" Erigor asked, clearly agitated.

"But it's not like he knows about our plans sir, and even if he did there's nothing that he and his stupid guild could do that would be able to stop us, right?" Kage countered from his position on the floor.

The reaper sent his scythe into the wooden floor of the train that lay but a few inches short of a very vital and cherished body part of every male's body, though this one in particular belonged to Kage. With a scowl on his face, the reaper then spoke once more.

"We can't afford to take any chances. Fortunately, we have a strategy in place." Erigor stated.

"Right, you mean that thing at Oshibana Station." Kage said, recalling that specific aspect of their plan.

"We can't have flies buzzing around where they're unwanted. It's up to you men to swat them away." Erigor said with a sickening smirk.

"Yes sir!" The dark wizards collectively replied.

_**Streets Leading Up to Oshibana Station **_

"Erza, slow down!" Gray exclaimed.

Currently the group was within the confines of the magic mobile, save for Gray who was on the roof once again. The vehicle currently sped towards the train station without delay, but the speed came at the cost of Erza's magic energy, which Gray knew all too well.

"I'm fine. We need to get to the train station quickly and if all else fails I have the rest of you with me to make up for the difference." Erza replied.

"She's right Gray. If we don't make it there in time it could mean people lose their lives." Ichigo stated in agreement.

"We could get there faster if a certain someone would volunteer to power the magic mobile again…" Erza trailed off, silently hoping for an answer in the affirmative.

"No!" Natsu and Gray shouted in unison, prompting everyone else to chuckle as a result.

"Well I guess there's your answer." Ichigo replied amusedly, eliciting a small smirk from the redheaded mage.

"I see, then that just means I'll need to rely on all of you. I hope you're a good fighter, Ichigo, because I'll need you and everyone else to be at your best." Erza said.

The magic mobile turned around an approaching corner, rocking the people within it much to the clear dismay of a certain fire dragon slayer.

"Gah…" Natsu moaned from within the car.

"I really feel bad for him…" Ichigo trailed off.

"Aye." Happy said sympathetically.

A moment later the pink-haired mage opted to make an attempt to crawl out of the open window. However, both Lucy and Ichigo were there to prevent the dragon slayer from preemptively ending his own life by doing something so colossally stupid.

"What the hell Natsu?! We're almost there you moron." Ichigo exclaimed.

"Yeah, you don't wanna fall out!" Lucy added.

"That's what I'm aiming for." Natsu said in a sickly manner.

"Um… I think I need to tell Lucy something…" Happy said from the far side of the seats.

"What are you mumbling about now?" Lucy asked in a tone that possessed a slight edge as she and Ichigo continued to prevent Natsu from crawling out of the car's window. It was actually ironic that this was the case given that in most circumstances it was the actual animal that attempted to get out of the car through the use of the window.

"Lucy's… weird… hungry… fishy… I like fish! Wait… weird…" Happy uttered.

"Why are you calling me weird?" Lucy growled out as she and the substitute successfully reeled in the pink-haired mage.

_**Outside Oshibana Station, Some Time Later…**_

"Okay, is everyone ready to go?" Erza questioned as the turned to the group.

Currently everyone was ready and willing to get on with the mission, save for one individual in particular. Natsu, for all of his love of fighting, was currently subjected to leaning on the body of a certain orange-haired substitute for support. It was likely that if Ichigo wasn't currently holding him up, the teen would've fallen over and stayed there for quite some time.

"I think Natsu's still got a bit of motion sickness, but I think everyone else is ready." Ichigo replied.

"Very well, now let's get going." Erza stated.

The group then began to walk towards the station, upon which they noticed several peculiar things. Firstly, there was a cloud of smoke coming off of the building that clearly shouldn't have been. Secondly, the entrance was guarded and an accompanying mob of onlookers was gathered.

'_My guess is that they're here already._' Ichigo thought.

"The station is closed due to a train derailment!" One of the blue-clad railway workers said through a megaphone.

"Tch, my ass." Ichigo sneered from his position within the crowd.

"Wait… where'd Erza go?" Lucy wondered aloud, though no one else in their group seemed to have the answer.

"We ask that all of you remain calm!" The man continued, only to stop upon someone tapping his shoulder.

"I found her!" Happy exclaimed, pointing at the redheaded woman who had come up from behind the guard.

'_Maybe she's just trying to get some information._' Ichigo mused.

"What's going on here?" Erza asked sternly.

"Why would I tell you lady?" The man sneered, sweatdropping slightly.

In the next instant the scarlet-haired woman sent him flying to the ground with a singular head-butt, effectively knocking him out before moving on to the next worker.

"What's going on?" Erza repeated. She waited for only a second and when the man didn't answer she reacted much the same as prior.

"You're kidding me…" Ichigo trailed off, watching in disbelief as Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard incapacitated the remainder of the blue-clad conductors in the exact same manner she had the first.

"It seems like her questioning method's a little counterproductive." Lucy said with a deadpanned expression.

"Ya think?" Ichigo asked rhetorically.

"Erza's got her own way of gettin' things done." Gray commented.

"Where are your clothes?!" Lucy and Ichigo exclaimed in unison.

"Dammit!" Gray shouted, noticing that he was once again in his boxers.

The scarlet-haired mage walked up to the group once more, a serious expression on her face and her thoughts being her own. At the very least she had cleared the way for them to go into the train station and discover for themselves what was happening, so Ichigo supposed that was a benefit.

"So, did your questioning methods actually get any answers?" Ichigo asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Unfortunately, no, I have failed in that regard, however I will ask that you hit me for my penance at a later time. For now I believe the situation is obvious." Erza stated.

'_Again with the hitting thing? Why does she think I have a desire to hit her and why does she seem to want me to?_' Ichigo wondered confusedly.

"Eisenwald is inside already, let's go." Erza ordered, receiving a firm nod from everyone else present.

_**Inside Oshibana Station, Some Time Later…**_

The group of mages and the substitute ran down the halls, Natsu still being carried by Ichigo and Happy flying by their collective side. Their destination was the heart of the station, and that's where they knew they'd find the members of Eisenwald.

"The army sent in a small unit but they've yet to return. I am guessing that they were caught in battle by the Eisesnwald forces." Erza stated.

They then came up to a staircase, taking note that the very same army unit the scarlet-haired mage had been referencing was currently littering it with their unconscious bodies. Lucy shuddered at the sight, but everyone else merely scowled at the implications. If they didn't know before, now they knew that Eisewald was definitely here in the station.

"They've been completely wiped out." Happy said fearfully as they continued to walk down the halls, catching the sight of the remaining soldiers as they did so.

"They went up against an entire guild. A small contingent of soldiers like this would be no match for such a powerful group." Erza stated.

The group finally arrived at the nexus of the station, each prepared for any ambush or potential trap that would occur. Well, at least three of them were, Lucy, Happy, and obviously Natsu weren't really in the condition to think about such things. When they finally entered the main room, a wicked voice sounded off to greet them.

"Hahaha… welcome, step into our parlor Fairy Tail flies!" Erigor greeted as his guild's enemies entered the room.

"Hehehehehe…" The dark wizards snickered in unison.

Ichigo and the others immediately examined the room's inhabitants, instantly taking note that there were a huge number of wizards all around. It was hard to get a rough estimate, but he was positive that they outnumbered the group of thugs he took out by at least twice as much.

Once the sheer number of men within the room was addressed, that's when they all noticed a particular individual, the man who each knew to be behind this plot. Off to the side sat a silver-haired man with a large scythe carelessly hoisted over his left shoulder. A wicked grin as etched on his face, and one could just tell he was evil to his core.

"You fiend… I take it your Erigor the reaper?" Erza questioned with narrowed eyes.

"Hehehe…" Erigor chuckled evilly.

Since they had entered the room, Ichigo had opted to rest Natsu on the floor, for multiple reasons but the main one was that he couldn't necessarily fight if he had to carry around a body over his shoulder. He did that once, but in that instance his opponent was just a single man, not an entire dark guild.

Currently, the blonde-haired celestial spirit mage was making repeated attempts to wake him out of his motion sickness-induced stupor. As of this very moment in time, she had been unsuccessful in doing so.

"Come on Nastu, we need you for this." Lucy pleaded as she shook the dragon slayer in an attempt to wake him up.

"Good luck. Between trains, magic mobiles, and your shacking, it's a motion sickness triple combo." Happy stated.

"I'm not a vehicle!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Hey… you're the guys who got me in trouble with Erigor… get up ya pink-haired insect." Kage ordered from the frontlines of the dark wizards.

"I know that voice…" Natsu trailed off, struggling to bring himself off the ground.

"Enough of this! We are not threatened by any of you! Tell me what you have planned this instant!" Erza exclaimed, her voice booming with authority.

"Oh, you haven't heard yet?" Erigor asked amusedly.

A second later he got up from his seated position and flew into the air directly half-way between the two opposing sides, the same smirk still etched on his face.

"He can fly?" Lucy exclaimed.

"It's wind magic." Happy realized.

"What do all train stations have?" Erigor inquired, subsequently after which his feet touched down on the crystal ball that sat atop a collective combination of four speakers. When he had done this, most members of the group immediately understood what the reaper had been referring to.

"You plan to broadcast the Lullaby's song?" Erza guessed.

"Hehehehehehe, thousands of nosy onlookers have flocked to this station to get a glimpse of the action. Who knows? If I raise the volume of the song loud enough I may be able to destroy the entire city with my melody of death!" Erigor proclaimed.

'_You bastard!_' Ichigo thought, his fists balling at the words of the silver-haired man. Let's just say he had no love for people who had no objection to destroying the population of an entire city for their own purposes.

"What reason do you have for committing such a heinous crime against the innocent people of this town?" Erza growled out.

"This is a cleansing of all the fools out there who fail to appreciate the rights they hold so dear, who remain ignorant to those who've had their rights stripped away. They've committed the sin of turning a blind eye to the world's injustice. Therefore… the reaper has come to punish them!" Erigor stated.

"What would that fix? Its things like this that are why you were kicked out of the wizarding guilds in the first place!" Lucy countered.

"Hehe, we've given up trying to regain our rights. We want power, and then we will be able to wash away the sins of the past and then use that power to create a new future." Erigor replied.

"You monster!" Erza exclaimed angrily.

"Oh, and what are you going to do abou…" Erigor began, only to stop upon feeling a massive pressure hit his entire being.

Almost everyone in the entire room felt the full force of this mysterious pressure, and the moment that it started the source became quite clear. Each and every one of the dark wizards and Fairy Tail mages alike turned to look at the form of the orange-haired teen, who gave off a light blue aura around his body. If the scowl and glare he was directing at the dark wizard's leader were anything to go by, he definitely wasn't pleased.

'_What is this pressure?_' Erza wondered, a bead of sweat running down the side of her cheek.

Most others were thinking the exact same thing, but such thoughts were pushed to the back of their minds, in the case of the dark wizards, upon the orange-haired teen grabbing what appeared to be a wooden skull badge, after which he seemed to separate into two different bodies.

"What the hell?" Several whispered from within the ranks of the dark wizards.

"Gotcha." Lucy said as she caught the body.

"Thanks, Lucy. I appreciate it." Ichigo said evenly, though he didn't bother looking back in favor of maintaining his scowl and glare at the man who had pissed him off a great deal.

An instant later he grabbed the hilt of his long cleaver-like sword and brought it out in front of his body, subsequently after which the cloth surrounding the blade disappeared, revealing Zangetsu in all of his glory.

"I don't think I've ever seen that kind of magic before… just who are you, Fairy Tail fly?" Erigor asked, not shifting from his position atop the speakers.

"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki, and I've heard enough out of you." Ichigo answered in an agitated manner.

"Hahahahah! And just what…" Erigor began.

He was cut off before he got a chance to finish his sentence due to the orange-haired teen leaping up into the air and charging directly at him. The physical strength someone would need to do something like that alone was mindboggling, and yet this boy had done it with seemingly no effort whatsoever.

With widened eyes, Erigor brought up his scythe, barely managing to block the sword strike of his opponent. Doing so, however, sent him flying into a nearby pillar, which cracked due to the sheer force that resulted from Erigor's collision with it.

Ichigo, on the other hand, preformed a backflip and gracefully landed on the ground a decent amount ahead of the other's in his group. His front was still facing the dark wizards, and the perpetual scowl and glare were still marking his features.

'_That was… impressive._' Erza thought.

"No way…" Many of the dark wizards exclaimed out of disbelief.

'_No one should be able to do this to me…_' Erigor thought as he got up from the hole he had made in the pillar.

"My mistake…" Ichigo began, drawing the attention of the wind magic user as he spoke.

Erigor flew out of the hole and glared heavily at the black-clad teen, obviously being annoyed by the fact that he was so easily taken by surprise in front of his subordinates. Moreover, the teen didn't even seem as if he had expended any effort at all.

"…next time I won't miss." Ichigo stated.

"You really think I can be defeated so easily? It doesn't matter I have more important things to do than to mess around with flies like you. Take care of them, men. Show them the terror of the Dark Guild Eisenwald!" Eriogor shouted before flying off.

"You heard him boys, let's take care of this." Kage stated.

An instant later the shadow magic user placed the palm of his hand directly onto the floor and willed three separate shadowy tendrils to charge forth in an attempt to take out the group that stood behind Ichigo. They moved very quickly, but even from the start they didn't have a chance to do any real damage.

Just as the hands popped out of the ground, poised to slash and claw at the seemingly unprepared mages, a fire-shielded fist tore them to shreds.

"You…" Kage growled, looking directly at the face of the pink-haired mage that had just countered his attack.

"Good to have you back Natsu." Ichigo commented, turning to face the pink-haired mage with Zangetsu laying across his shoulders.

"Heh, it's nice to be back. Now whaddaya say we start kicking some ass, Fairy Tail style?" Natsu asked rhetorically, pounding his fists together and coating them with a layer of thick fire.

"No, I need you and Gray to go after Erigor. My magic energy may not be a hundred percent, but I can still fight these underlings off with Ichigo and Lucy here. The three of us will stay here and take care of them while you make sure Lullaby isn't used here at the station." Erza ordered.

Both of the requested mages looked at one another with a scornful look, obvious not looking forward to teaming up or following such a direct order from the bossiest person they had ever met in their life. Still, even if they were going to complain, they'd save it for when lives weren't at stake.

"Right." The two replied in unison.

"If the two of you work together there isn't anything you can't do, and…" Erza began, only to stop upon turning around to see that the two had yet to move and were instead butting heads with one another.

"What did I say?!" Erza barked.

"Aye!" The two said in unison before running off.

"They just ran off." One of the dark wizards commented.

"They're goin' after Erigor." Another stated.

"I've got it." One of the wizards proclaimed.

The owner of the voice then willed several gauze-like extensions to fly towards a nearby railing a grip it, subsequently after which the wizard was pulled up onto higher ground.

"I the great Rayule will take them down." He added.

"I'm coming with you. That pink-haired dimwit's gonna pay." Kage stated before he vanished into the floor, becoming nothing more than a wandering shadow.

"We'll catch up to them when we've finished up with the rest of the men here okay?" Erza said.

"Just us against an entire magical guild?" Lucy asked shakily.

"Hehe… momma always told me not to hit a girl, but this time I'll make an exception." One of the men stated evilly.

"Sorry ladies, but when we're done with ya you're not gonna look nearly as cute." Another sneered, cracking his knuckles.

"But without my stunning beauty I'll be totally helpless." Lucy stated vainly.

"This is not time for daydreaming Lucy!" Happy exclaimed.

"Now that's just rude, going after the girl's first. What kind of scumbags are you?" Ichigo asked, turning to face the group of enemies once again.

"Who does this kid think he is? Just because you got the jump on Erigor when he wasn't lookin' you think you can talk to us like that?" One of the dark wizards asked angrily.

"Are you idiots just going to sit around all day or are we going to fight?" Ichigo asked in a bored tone, his zanpakuto still resting across his shoulders.

"Don't act so tough, ya brat. It's all of us versus the three of you." A random dark wizard remarked. The man's comment, however, only caused Ichigo to smirk cockily given that he knew perfectly well how this fight was going to end.

"Yeah, you're right, it isn't really a fair fight… for you." Ichigo stated confidently.

"Bring it on berry boy!" One of the men challenged.

No sooner than that particular insult was uttered did Ichigo leap into battle. His zanpakuto instantly cut the weapons of at least five or six men in the first strike, and very clearly none of them had seen him coming.

'_That was very quick…_' Erza thought, her eyes slightly widened at the sight of the orange-haired teen's natural speed.

Quickly, each of the nearby dark wizards made an attempt to make up for their not seeing him make the first move of the battle, but little did they know that was the perfectly incorrect decision to make.

The second they attempted to mount a counterattack, Ichigo took them all down with varied swings of his sword, causing them to shoot outwardly all across the room.

"What the hell?" Several of the mage's exclaimed.

Ichigo didn't even stop to make a smug remark or correct the dark wizards for getting his namesake incorrect, but to be perfectly honest the sooner this was dealt with the better. He had taken down a good amount, already over a dozen in number, but there were still plenty more to deal with.

"He's swinging that big sword as if it weighs nothing…" Lucy said in awe.

The only time the blonde-haired mage had actually seen Ichigo use the sword in combat was the incident at Hargeon when they had first met, and even in that instance she wasn't paying particular attention to how well he wielded the blade. Every other instance she had seen him use his hands or had heard of an event where this was the case.

"Indeed, it is quite impressive to say the least." Erza stated, smirking as she watched the orange-haired teen rip into another pile of dark wizards.

'_Bringing him seems to have been a good suggestion… I'll have to thank Mira later._' Erza thought.

"It's just one wizard men! Take him down!" One of the mages exclaimed as he and a group of others started to surround the teen.

"Well I'd feel a bit silly if I didn't get in on at least some of the fighting." Erza thought aloud.

A moment later she extended her right hand, subsequently after which a large red magic seal appeared, giving way to a magical sword a moment later. The sword itself was rather standard in appearance, but even so the speed at which it was summoned was rather impressive.

"Oh wow, a magic sword." Lucy observed.

"I suggest you surrender now before I lose my temper!" Erza exclaimed before jumping into the fray.

The scarlet-haired mage tore into one of the sides of the encirclement that had been surrounding Ichigo, which though unneeded did give the substitute the ability to charge the other half. Each began to rip through enemy after enemy, not even receiving so much as a scratch and easily dispatching of anyone who dared to cross their path.

"Get the redhead while that guy's distracted!" One of the dark wizards exclaimed.

Ichigo's eyes instantly shifted to see a group of three enemies extending their open right palms, collectively, towards the unsuspecting Fairy Tail wizard. An instant later three separate rays of golden magical energy shot forth, each appearing to have been dead set on hitting Erza.

Thinking on her feet, the redheaded knight quickly jumped into the air, causing the magical projectiles to do little more than crack the floor she had previously stood over. While still in the air, she then held out her sword and seemingly replaced it with a long spear in an instant.

"You'll have to do better than that!" Erza exclaimed. She then soared towards the ground, instantly taking out the wizards that had mounted the simultaneous attack on her with relative ease.

When that was done, the infamous requip user then shifted her sights towards another nearby collection of dark wizards, each of whom were currently debating on whether or not to surround Ichigo or attempt to fight her.

In the next instant she recalled the spear and summoned twin swords, each shorter than her pervious magical sword, before she charged the gathering of enemies, effectively making use of their indecision for her own strategic purposes.

'_Not bad._' Ichigo thought with a smirk as he continued to cut down drone after drone that attempted to take him down.

"I've never seen anybody able to requip as fast as this chick, and no matter how many of our men go after that orange-haired guy he doesn't even break a sweat." The assumed leader stated.

"What's requip?" Lucy asked from the sidelines.

"Magic weaponry isn't that much different from your celestial magic Lucy. The user can summon weapons that they keep stored in their magical space, and when they use their switches between weapons it's called requiping." Happy explained.

"Wow, that's incredibly." Lucy said excitedly.

"You ain't seen nothin' yet. Erza's just getting warmed up." Happy proclaimed.

"Did she just say Erza?" One of the members wondered aloud.

"Forget about that. Somebody go after the blonde chick for cryin' out loud! She can't be nearly as tough as these two!" The apparent leader shouted.

A large group of the dark mages then turned their sights towards the blonde-haired celestial wizard, after which they began to run towards her, weapons primed and ready to cut her into pieces as if she were ribbon.

"Tch, time for me to kick some butt." Lucy stated.

"Why are you trying to steal the spotlight from them?" Happy asked confusedly.

"Open Gate of the Giant Crab, Cancer!" Lucy exclaimed.

The instant after the gate opened, said celestial spirit appeared at the blonde's beckoned call. He appeared to be relatively tall, have rather tan skin, and had three pairs of crab legs sprouting from his back. His overall appearance was that of a barber, two separate pairs of scissors being located in each of his hands.

"You need me to take care of the dudes, baby?" Cancer asked in a calm fashion.

"Yeah, take 'em out with style!" Lucy requested.

The men simultaneously charged the celestial mage, yet again this proved to be a mistake. In a split second the crab spirit cut up their weapons and left them all bald-headed and dejected, at which point they all just fell on the ground with panicked expressions on their faces.

"Like their new style, baby?" Cancer asked.

"That was impressive." Erza complimented.

"Oh really? Thanks, but it was no big deal." Lucy replied sheepishly.

The redheaded knight then summoned an axe and tore into yet another group of wizards. However stupid they may have been, no one could say they weren't persistent.

"Alright! I totally scored points with Erza!" Lucy exclaimed happily.

"However, this crab spirit of yours. The way he calls you baby… I find it rather insulting." Erza added.

"Points unscored…" Lucy mumbled in a melancholic manner.

"Ouch… but whoa…" Cancer uttered.

On the other side of the room a large group of dark wizards had once again started to encircle Ichigo in what had to be their third synchronized attempt to even wound him as a collective group.

However, they had done the same to Erza from the opposite end. The final result was a large group of wizards surrounding two teenage warriors who were currently standing back to back with one another, their weapons drawn and their expressions deadly serious.

"Erza, when I say duck, duck, alright?" Ichigo requested.

The scarlet-haired mage gave a confused glance towards the teenage substitute, but before she could ask a single question their common enemies had charged, their swords prepared to stab into them without any delay.

"Get 'em men!" One of the men roared.

"Duck!" Ichigo shouted.

Without giving it a second thought, Erza followed the command, though she was highly confused as to why this was requested of her. That confusion, however, evaporated in the wake of what happened next.

With one swift, powerful motion, Ichigo turned his body and swept across the incoming wizards, the end result of which was for them to be pushed back almost instantaneously. Their weapons shattered and their bodies flew all over the room, successfully ending their offensive for the time being and allowing the two Fairy Tail members some room to breathe.

"Very Impressive." Erza complimented.

"Thanks, but we're not done yet." Ichigo commented, noticing that a final large mass of enemies had just gathered at their front.

A head on assault was likely the dumbest thing they had tried thus far, but this was collectively everyone that remained and was capable of putting up a fight. Even those who had been moderately wounded in the previous engagements were getting up in order to mount one final offensive.

"There are still so many…" Erza thought aloud.

"Then we just have to take them down, plain and simple." Ichigo stated.

"Hm… you've taken down your fair share already, please allow me to take down the rest." Erza requested.

Before Ichigo could even verbally acknowledge that he was perfectly fine with that, the scarlet-haired mage began to access her greatest magical ability. Her armor and clothing began to vanish and her body glowed with an ethereal golden light that shined so brightly it felt as if it were the sun itself.

"Whoa, her armor's disappearing!" One of the dark wizards cheered.

"What the hell is wrong with you perverts?!" Ichigo shouted angrily, not understanding how they could find a way to make this seem dirty. They couldn't even see anything either, not that he was looking, he just happened to notice that this was the case.

When the transformation was complete, Erza was covered with an entirely different set of armor. Her neck and stomach were uncovered but plated armor with a large metal flower over it covered her breasts, a large billowing skirt with metal plating on its upper area covered her lower body, and pair of large metal wings that appeared to be made of blades themselves sprouted from the middle of her back. Within the palms of her hands lay a pair of identical swords, the very same color as her armor.

"Most magic swordsman only have the ability to swap their weapon. But Erza is able to swap out armor for wizarding armor that enhances her abilities. It's a talent that only she possesses, that's what makes her special. It's a technique called… The Knight." Happy stated as the transformation came to light.

"Now…" Erza began, floating up into the air as she spoke.

"Dance my swords!" She exclaimed, summoning a spinning wheel of identical swords that acted as a virtual army on their own.

"I knew it, this had gotta be her." Karaccka uttered fearfully.

"Circle Sword!" Erza shouted, sending the large spinning wheel of blade directly at the large group of dark wizards.

Within an instant the entirety of the enemy force was incapacitated save for two men who had evidently been giving the commands to the others. With their subordinates taken out of the picture, however, they were not even a remote threat.

"Whoa, she took them all down with a single swipe!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Aye." Happy said excitedly.

"Impressive." Ichigo complimented, turning his back to the remaining two and staring up at the redheaded wizard with a smirk on his features.

"Thank you." Erza said, smirking slightly as well.

"Alright, you're dealing with me now!" Byard exclaimed, jumping up into the air and making to punch the female knight with a magically reinforced fist.

"Don't do it Byard! Do you have any idea who that woman is?!" Karaccka shouted.

He, however, was far too late as with a single slash of her twin swords Erza had defeated the dark wizard known as Byard and sent him falling down to the floors of the train station while she herself did the same though she landed on her feet as opposed to on her face.

"She's queen of the fairies, Titania Erza!" Karaccka exclaimed fearfully, only watching as his comrade hit the ground.

With nearly all of Eisenwald's forces eliminated, or at least those who were in the immediate area, Erza pulled back her requip armor in favor of her normal Heart-Kreuz attire. She kept a stern look at the remaining dark wizard and practically challenged him to make a move, immediately after which said man started to sweat bullets.

"To hell with this, I'm gettin' out of here!" Karaccka proclaimed before running off.

"I would imagine he went to look for Erigor, you should follow him." Erza stated, looking back at her two comrades as she spoke.

"Who, me?" Lucy asked confusedly, gesturing a finger to herself.

"Just do it." Erza ordered in an agitated manner, a glint appearing in her eyes.

"Whatever you say!" Lucy exclaimed before running off.

The blonde was surprisingly fast when she was afraid if the time it took her to exit the room was any significant indicator.

She had left in about three seconds, but shortly thereafter a certain redheaded knight began to fall to the ground, her face clearly weary and several beads of sweat visible on her forehead.

Before she could even land on a single knee, however, a hand caught her own and lessened her fall, allowing her to gather herself and make it seem as if it were just a tired gesture.

"You really did wear yourself out, did you?" Ichigo reasoned, recalling very clearly what Fairy Tail's resident ice mage had warned the redhead about on several different occasions.

"Gray was right, I used up too much magic energy on our way here." Erza replied, allowing herself to be helped up by the orange-haired teen.

"Even so, we took out all of the grunts. All that's left are the guy Lucy went after, the two that followed Natsu and Gray, and then Erigor." Ichigo mused.

"Yes, that is true. While I do think Natsu and Gray are capable of taking down Erigor, I believe it necessary for us to find a way to clear the crowd to prevent any lives from being lost." Erza stated, her opinion matching that of the substitute.

"Good idea, were you thinking of using the balcony or the speaker system?" Ichigo inquired.

"Finding the area where the speaker's controls are would take too much time. All we need to do is address the crowd outside the station and warn them." Erza replied.

"Alight, then we should get going." Ichigo mused, receiving a nod from the redheaded woman before the two ran off in unison.

_**Oshibana Station: With Natsu and Gray…**_

The raven-haired ice make user ran through the halls of the train station alongside the person that aggravated him more than anyone else. They traveled in silence, but the scowls and glares they each sported serviced to show just about how much they enjoyed being in one another's company.

"I can't believe she's making us work together. What was she thinking?" Gray grumbled angrily, being the first to break the silence.

"Obviously she wasn't thinking, everybody knows ice and fire don't mix." Natsu added.

"Yeah, and why's she so freakin' bossy?!" Gray exclaimed.

"She should just ask us to do stuff instead of ordering us around!" Natsu roared angrily, after which the two wizard's stopped and turned to one another with an annoyed expression.

"I don't need your help, I can beat Erigor all by myself!" They shouted in unison.

"Are you copying me?!" The two asked one another, butting heads as they did so.

In the next instant each noticed that at the end of the hall the path separated into two different directions, either of which could be the proper way to find Erigor in order to stop him. At the same time, they both couldn't go down one, otherwise they risked the chance of being incorrect and allowing the wind magic user to escape.

"Which way do we go?" Natsu asked evenly.

"I guess we'll have to split up." Gray mused.

The two then went off to separate portions of the opposite hallways, their backs to one another and their fists ready to bring this mission to a close the second that they found Erigor, or if they did rather. Even so, something was still left to be said, as evident by the fact that the two comrades had yet to diverge.

"Natsu, we're up against an evil freak who's about to unleash a deadly spell… if you find him, give him a thrashing." Gray stated, turning to face the dragon slayer with a small smirk on his face.

"You don't have to tell me twice. I owe that jerk for messin' with Fairy Tail, so I'm gonna burn him to a crisp." Natsu replied, also smirking.

The two then seemingly realized they were acting friendly and opted to change their attitudes, giving a slight huff before turning their backs to one another once again.

"Don't die on me…" Gray muttered under his breath.

"What?" Natsu asked confusedly.

"Nothin'… later loser." Gray said, waving the dragon slayer off before he ran down his selected hall.

The ice mage ran down the hall for but a few seconds before rounding the corner and seeing a sign that indicated the broadcasting studio was just up ahead. Realizing this, his eyes widened and he stopped dead in his tracks.

"They must be planning to broadcast Lullaby's song through the speaker system. If that's the case then this is where they'd be." Gray mused.

Without wasting a moment he ran the remaining distance that separated him and the control center, quickly coming up towards the door and kicked it open in an urgent manner. He had fully expected to find Erigor getting ready to sound off the melody of death, but when he opened the door nothing was in the room. It was devoid of any evident life.

"There's nobody here… maybe I was wrong about him broadcasting it over the station's PA…" Gray thought aloud.

His eyes widened a moment later and he was forced to jump out of the way of a surprise attack that came from directly above his previous position. When the ice mage had regained his footing, he looked back to see a smirking dark wizard with extending gauz-rings that acted as if they were added limbs.

"That was a pretty good guess pal, but our plan's nowhere near that obvious." Rayule chided as he hung from the ceiling through the use of his brand of magic.

"Then you're gonna tell me what the plan is so you don't get hurt." Gray stated matter-of-factly, smirking heavily at the form of his opponent.

_**Oshibana Station: Platform Overlooking the City, With Erza and Ichigo…**_

"Well at least we found a good place to warn them." Ichigo reasoned as the two looked down on the gathered crowd.

At a conservative estimate the number of gathered civilians numbered in the hundreds, which mean that they had to give their warning very delicately. In fact, it might even prove to be a good idea to lie just to prevent a panic, which would likely ensue if they were under the impression that their lives were all at risk if they stayed put.

"Yes, now all that is left to do is warn them." Erza stated.

"So how do you wanna handle it, I mean, we can't just…" Ichigo began, only to be cut off by the audible high pitched sound a megaphone made when it was usually being started up.

The substitute looked over at his comrade with a raised brow, taking note that the megaphone was, indeed, within her hands. That, however, raised more concerns than it addressed. However at the same time she couldn't be about to say what he thought she would say.

'_She wouldn't do that… would she?_' Ichigo wondered.

"Listen to me everyone, if you value your lives you will leave this place at once! This station has been taken over by evil wizards. They are threatening to cast a deadly spell over the loudspeakers that would kill everyone here." Erza began.

Even from a great distance above, Ichigo could see the fear-stricken expressions of the pedestrians. He wanted to say something, but at the same time he supposed that one, nothing could be done to take back what Erza had said, and two, as long as they left quickly enough it wouldn't matter in the long run. Still it was very clear that tact was not on of the scarlet-haired wizard's strong suits.

"I beg you, run as far as you can." Erza finished, allowing the megaphone to rest by her hip after she had done so.

"AAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The crowd screamed as each and every one of them collectively took the advice of the redheaded woman.

If anything they were at least panicking in an organized fashion, otherwise they wouldn't have all ran the same direction in a near perfect formation. That did confuse Ichigo slightly, but given that it worked to their advantage he didn't question it.

"Hey lady, why would you make everyone panic like that?" One of the conductors asked, coming onto the platform with several others to see why this was the case.

"I would rather they panic than watch them die. In fact you gentleman need to leave as well." Erza stated, raising a good point.

"You heard her, get moving. Trust me when I say you won't want to be near this place with what the dark wizards have planned." Ichigo stated.

"R-right." Another of the conductors replied.

The group of station employees took the advice of the duo before they began to run off, clearly being inelegant enough to discern that at the very least their jobs were not worth their lives. When this was done, Ichigo turned to Erza with a neutral expression, after which he made to speak.

"Good job clearing out all the civilians." Ichigo complimented, keeping his small concerns with her method to himself.

"Yes, now that they are all no longer in danger all we need to do is find Erigor." Erza stated, turning to face the substitute once again.

When she did so, however, her face morphed into an expression of shock and slight amounts of terror, almost as if something horrible had happened. Ichigo noticed this almost instantly, after which he turned as well, and his reaction was much the same upon seeing what had happened.

The station itself was completely surrounded by a practical tornado. Wind raged in a circular motion all around it, which likely meant that nothing could get in and nothing could get out.

"A wind barrier." Erza uttered.

"Hehehehehe…" Erigor's light laughter came from the air behind the two.

Ichigo immediately grabbed the hilt of his zanpakuto and turned to face the well-known magical criminal with a determined expression. Erza did much the same, though she didn't bother summoning a weapon, rather she just settled on staring up at the floating wind magic user with a shocked expression.

"So do you intend to fight us while we're separated from the others?" Ichigo asked, glaring at the silver-haired man.

"Don't flatter yourself. I do owe you a thrashing from before, and while I also would relish the opportunity to fight the queen of the fairies, I don't have any time to waste on you." Erigor stated smugly.

Before either Ichigo or Erza could react, the Eisenwald ace brought up his left hand and simply opened its palm, effectively sending creating a small hole in the wind barrier and simultaneously willing a powerful gust of wind to send both of his enemies flying back into the barrier.

'_What the hell?!_' Ichigo wondered, having not been prepared for such a thing occurring.

"Erigor!" Erza shouted angrily as she charged into the sides of the wind barrier.

The scarlet-haired knight made brief contact with the surface of the rapidly moving winds, but she shot backwards a great distance shortly thereafter, landing on her arm and releasing a slight groan due to her apparent injury.

"It's hopeless. There's no way you'll ever be able to break free of my magic sealing barrier. You see its one way, if you try to escape the wind will tear you apart." Erigor said confidently.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Erza exclaimed, picking herself up from the ground and lightly clenching her injured arm.

"Sorry, but you'll have to excuse me. You Fairy Tail flies have wasted enough of our time." Erigor stated before flying off.

"Damn." Erza spat, obviously being disappointed with recent events.

"Are you alright?" Ichigo asked, observing that the redhead was still holding onto her arm.

"I'm perfectly fine. My pride has taken a hit, but I can manage." Erza replied honestly.

"What the hell was that about? Why would he go to all the trouble of sealing us inside here? Clearly his target isn't the city, so then what is his plan?" Ichigo wondered aloud.

Erza stood in place, thinking on the orange-haired teen's words with a determined expression gracing her features. However, the moment something very specific occurred to her, and when it did her face morphed into one of terror.

"The guild masters conference!" Erza exclaimed worriedly.

"What? Is it even possible for Erigor to get there from this station without a train?" Ichigo asked in a surprised tone.

"Any normal wizard would be unable to navigate the canyon, and transportation by way of a magic mobile wouldn't work since the trains usually run that route. However, Erigor is capable of flight, and since there will be no witnesses to see him coming…" Erza began.

"Then he's got a free ticket to target the guild masters!" Ichigo realized, eliciting a nod from Fairy Tail's greatest female wizard.

"Yes, precisely. If that's the case then he's played us for fools." Erza stated, growling slightly as she finished. She truly hated to be outsmarted in such a way, and due to the fact that it had been by a dark wizard it made her all the more bitter.

"Wait… don't we know any way to diffuse the barrier? Maybe we can force one of the dark wizards to do it?" Ichigo suggested.

"That's brilliant! That one wizard who was capable of breaking the seal on Lullaby would surely be able to dispel Erigor's wind barrier." Erza said happily.

"Only problem is that he and some other guy went after Natsu and Gray." Ichigo commented.

"Well he didn't come after me…" Gray trailed off as he entered the room.

"Gray? Why are you here? Where is Natsu?" Erza questioned evenly.

"I'm here because I got one of the Eisenwald goons to tell me their plans. They want to use Lullaby on…" Gray began, only to be cut off.

"…the guild master's conference, right?" Ichigo and Erza said in unison.

"Yeah… anyway, even if we know that it doesn't change the fact that we fell for their trap. Still if what you said is true, all we have to do is find that Kageyama guy and we can make him dispel the wind barrier." Gray mused.

"Then we need to find those two as soon as possible." Ichigo stated.

Erza nodded in agreement, after which the trio ran off to find the dimwitted dragon slayer, who beyond a shadow of a doubt had no idea what was going on. They just prayed he didn't go overboard and wind up knocking out Kageyama, otherwise they'd be in some serious trouble.

'_Come on Natsu, I've got faith in you._' Ichigo thought, mimicking those of Erza and, to a lesser extent, Gray.

**A/N Again, the next chapter will be posted next Monday. **

_**Explanations**_:

**Why did Erigor actually manage to block Ichigo's first attack?**: Realistically it was because it was not Ichigo's full speed in the slightest, that's why.

**Why Isn't Ichigo Just Breaking Through the Barrier?**: There is a reason for this, and it is primarily because he knows using that much force would probably have the potential to backfire and blow up the station. Remember, he doesn't really want to land himself in too much trouble due to his situation, and blowing up a train station as well as a portion of the area around it isn't exactly a good way to stay off of people's radars.

**Relationship of Magic and Spiritual Energy**: I forgot to add this last chapter, so I will for this one. The magic mobile example was just to further illustrate that magical energy and spiritual energy, for the purposes of this story, are very much so related. Spiritual energy is just more potent, and obviously that was shown last chapter xD.

**Does Lullaby's Song Work on Ichigo?**: Nope, not at all. Death Magic doesn't work on him because he is technically a soul when he is in his Soul Reaper form. That should be self-explanatory, but I just wanted to say this as a heads up.

_**Reviews**_:

**TeninChwang**: Having something 'be boring' in the sense I was referring to was meant to mean that it would read horribly. As an author, that is more than enough of a valid reason to have that interaction play out the way it did.

**Zaralaan**: First question I cannot answer since it would be spoiler-esque. Second one, nope, it wouldn't work, not at all, just like I said in this chapter's Explanations section.

**Reid Lionmane**: He will not have any adverse effects on those who are around him despite the fact that he has a massive amount of spiritual pressure. For your second question, I am not entirely sure of what to say in that there will be different forms, I suppose, but if you were referring to the dual wield Zangetsu's, I have yet to decide.

**KO**: No, he actually will get a Harem, Orihime would… well, probably want to be in on it, to be honest xD, and for everything else… you will just have to wait and see ;P

**ruben00**: The reason for Ichigo's body being present will not be revealed for quite a long, long time, as in not even this story really. Sequel, yes, this story, no. Also, I will work out a way around the combat pass later, after it proves to officially be a nuisance, and as for if he will learn to use Fullbring or use his Soul Reaper powers outside his body, he will not. He will learn something similar to magic, but he will by no means learn a great deal of it whatsoever.

**Luna's Meow**: Nelliel won't be in this story, only one other Bleach character will and I will never reveal who that is directly. As for the reply function… well, I didn't actually know that was true, but I will have faith that no one will be an asshole… thank you very much for the warning though! As for changing things up, of course I will do that, but since the very beginning of Fairy Tail doesn't have a lot I can skip through, it will somewhat remain similar because for this type of story it kind of has to. That's not to say it won't be different, but it won't be astronomically different.

**Dagdamor1**: Ichigo's growth rate won't really be too much of a key point in this story since this one isn't really focused all that much on growth. He will explore his powers at some point, but major things like the realization of who his inner hollow actually is will come in the sequel.

**cellum95**: Everyone will pretty much be surprised by his Bankai ;)

**hornet07**: Rest assured I basically went in knowing that Death Magic doesn't do a thing to him xD

**Mr. Unknown**: Yup.

**hollow96**: Nope, it won't affect him. However, I will not be making Acnologia anything less than the _male_ dragon of the apocalypse, sorry ;(

**The Phoenix Wraith**: Yes, eventually I will, but not as soon as you would think… and also Getsuga Tensou will show up before the Jupiter Cannon, a few times I think.

**OddEvan**: The Tower of Heaven, yes, things will happen there but nothing really big in terms of a plot swing. The Paradise Arc, I assume that's with the Oracion Seis, something very, _very_, interesting will happen there… ;P

**lightskiller**: It will be IchigoxTwoFemales, maybe three if backed by popular demand, and I pretty much never say what the pairing will be until it is entirely too obvious.

**ljluan**: I've answered that question in previous chapters, _multiple times_, either in a review, in the **A/N**'s or in the _**Explanations**_: section. If you really didn't see that, then I will tell you that the answer is NO. No other Bleach characters, save for one who will arrive much later in the story, will be entering the Fairy Tail universe.

**LooseTie**: The Soul Society will not be featured in this story, that will be explained a good bit into the future, and rest assured it will make some sense.


	11. Lullaby

**A/N Hopefully the wait wasn't too bad, but this chapter's pretty long so I hope that makes up for it! **

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 11 **

"Wait… don't we know any way to diffuse the barrier? Maybe we can force one of the dark wizards to do it?" Ichigo suggested.

"That's brilliant! That one wizard who was capable of breaking the seal on Lullaby would surely be able to dispel Erigor's wind barrier." Erza said happily.

"Only problem is that he and some other guy went after Natsu and Gray." Ichigo commented.

"Well he didn't come after me…" Gray trailed off as he entered the room.

"Gray? Why are you here? Where is Natsu?" Erza questioned evenly.

"I'm here because I got one of the Eisenwald goons to tell me their plans. They want to use Lullaby on…" Gray began, only to be cut off.

"…the guild master's conference, right?" Ichigo and Erza said in unison.

"Yeah… anyway, even if we know that it doesn't change the fact that we fell for their trap. Still if what you said is true, all we have to do is find that Kageyama guy and we can make him dispel the wind barrier." Gray mused.

"Then we need to find those two as soon as possible." Ichigo stated.

Erza nodded in agreement, after which the trio ran off to find the dimwitted dragon slayer, who beyond a shadow of a doubt had no idea what was going on. They just prayed he didn't go overboard and wind up knocking out Kageyama, otherwise they'd be in some serious trouble.

'_Come on Natsu, I've got faith in you._' Ichigo thought, mimicking those of Erza and, to a lesser extent, Gray.

_**Oshibana Station: With Natsu…**_

"Erigor!" Natsu shouted as he pounded through door after door.

Any room within his sight the dragon slayer would walk up to and use his flame-covered fist to blow the entrance, and a good portion of the surrounding walls, to smithereens. He hadn't had any luck as of yet, but that didn't deter him in the slightest. If anything, it only encouraged his rampant tirade of destruction.

"Erigor, come out come out wherever you are!" Natsu exclaimed, decimating yet another doorway and the brick that surrounded it.

"Tch… doesn't this guy know how to use a door?" Kage wondered aloud as he followed the dimwitted Fairy Tail wizard from the shadows.

He seeped back into the floor of the station, after which he began to silently follow the fire wizard once more. All he needed was a single opportunity to strike and the fight would be over. In fact, by his standpoint, their confrontation was over before it even began.

'_Now that Erigor's made it out safely this kid doesn't pose much of a threat… at least not to anything that isn't a door._' Kage thought, observing as the pink-haired wizard smashed through half of the hallway he had just rounded.

"Show yourself Erigor!" Natsu roared.

'_I could just let him go… but what would be the fun in that?_' Kage wondered, surfacing from the floor directly behind the Fairy Tail wizard.

Natsu turned, instantly sensing that an attack was coming, but he was far too late. Around four of the shadowy tendrils took the form of fists and pounded into his body without delay. He himself shot backwards into a large amount of wooden crates, but he'd taken worse hits.

"There, I've wanted to do that for a while now. Had enough Fairy Tail insect?" Kage taunted as his opponent struggled to free himself of the surrounding debris.

"Not you again!" Natsu exclaimed, coming up from the crates' remnants with his head having gone through a painting.

"Wow, you look like an idiot." Kage commented, smirking at how truly idiotic the pink-haired teen looked.

"Aw shut it, Doggy." Natsu said, causing a tick mark to appear on the raven-haired wizard's forehead.

"It's Kage! Not Doggy, Kage!" He exclaimed.

"Same thing really…" Natsu muttered underneath his breath.

"I think I've got you figured out. You eat fire to increase your power, and, now that I know that, it shouldn't be too hard to stamp out." Kage stated contentedly.

"Whatever, just tell me where Erigor is!" Natsu demanded.

"Tch, you'll have to beat it out of me, Fairy Tail insect." Kage scoffed.

"My pleasure." Natsu said with a bloodthirsty grin.

_**Oshibana Station: Central Chambers **_

The remnants of the Eisenwald guild currently either sat in place with ropes surrounding their bodies, courtesy of a very agitated redheaded teen, or lay on the ground, unconscious and unable to truly do anything at the moment.

However, one remained conscious despite having taken a very large hit from the fairy queen, though he still was incapable of moving.

"How long are you going sit there hiding Karacka?" Byard asked in a low voice, his wounds not allowing him to speak any louder.

"I'm sorry, but I was scared." Karacka stated, phasing his upper body out of the wall he currently sat within.

"Never mind that now, the wind barrier is up, and now we need to make sure that they don't escape. To do that, you need to find Kageyama before they figure out he can dispel the barrier." Byard stated.

"No, please don't make me. You know I'm no good in a fight Byard." Karacka pleaded, obviously fearing that he would be caught by the enemy.

"Calm down… I'm sure even you can handle this." Byard said confidently, only eliciting quiet groaning from the green-haired phase magic user.

_**Oshibana Station: With Ichigo, Erza, and Gray…**_

"Gray, are you sure this is near the place where Natsu and you separated?" Ichigo asked, turning to the ice mage as the group continued to run down the halls.

"Positive. Though I don't know where the fire-breathing moron wound up after we split. For all I know he blew up every wall he could find and tried to look for Erigor that way." Gray commented.

'_That does sound like something he'd do…_' Ichigo thought.

The group rounded the next hallway, after which they began to see a vast majority of doors and walls completely destroyed. Incidentally the aspect that made it a practical footprint for Natsu was the fact that the debris and the shattered stones were covered with ashes, likely due to a fire-based attack having been used to initially destroy the doors.

"We must be getting close." Erza mused.

A moment later a loud resounding boom sounded off from several hallways down, which only caused each and every one of them to speed up more so. It sounded as if Natsu just went overboard, which he almost always did, but in this case it was the perfectly wrong thing to do.

Upon running down to the end of the next hallway, they saw the dragon slayer standing directly in front of Kage, the very man they wanted to find. Currently, he appeared alive, but it had also seemed that Natsu had oh so stealthily punched him through a wall.

'_I've really gotta talk to him about not blowing things up all the time._' Ichigo mentally noted. Property damage was definitely one of Natsu's strong points, however that may very well have been more of a detriment than a useful skill.

"Natsu, do not harm him, we need him alive!" Erza exclaimed as she and the other ran up the staircase.

"Waita go ya fire freak." Gray commented sarcastically, taking note that the dark wizard looked worse for wear.

"Wha?" Natsu uttered, turning to face the group.

The dragon slayer paled as he saw his scarlet-haired comrade raise a magical sword high in the air, having it pulled back and making to swing it directly at him. He began to sweat bullets, mostly because he didn't even know why this was happening.

"I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm sorry!" Natsu said, holding his hands up defensively as the queen of the fairies continued to move closer and closer towards him.

Natsu released a quiet but fearful squeak upon hearing the sword cut into the stone wall behind him, indicating that he, for the moment, hadn't invoked Titania's wrath. All the same, he still feared for his life at the mere implication that Erza was enraged with him.

"Erza, what the hell?!" Ichigo exclaimed, noticing that the magical sword was mere centimeters away from cutting into the sealing wizard's shoulder. His words, however, didn't seem to register with the very person he had addressed.

"You will dispel the wind barrier and you will do so without complaint." Erza demanded, a dark shade covering her face as she glared at the dark mage.

Kage, to his credit, managed not to say a word. He did, however, sweat bullets and shook slightly at the look the scarlet-haired woman was directing at him. Ichigo, from his perspective, was starting to see exactly why people were so afraid of this one woman.

"Just do it man, this chick's a real monster." Natsu said, still shaking from his previous thoughts that he was going to be brutally maimed by the redheaded knight.

"Shut up Natsu." Gray barked.

"Am I understood?" Erza asked sternly, still holding her magical weapon within an inch of slicing into the Eisenwald wizard.

"F-fine, I'll dispel it…" Kage replied fearfully.

Ichigo and the others shared an internal sigh of relief, mostly because of the fact that this meant they were virtually in the clear, or at least damn near close to it. An instant later, and much to their dismay, that sense of relief vanished.

Each watched as a hand pierced through Kage's body, sprouting forth from a magical seal located on his stomach. It was clearly not doing any visible damage, but it very likely did significant amounts thereof to the wizard's internal organs. The amount of pain had to be substantial, as evident by the loud cry that the raven-haired man gave out upon this occurring.

Kage groaned before falling over, revealing the thickly-built Eisenwald mage that had ran away upon Ichigo and Erza defeating his comrades so easily.

"Karacka… why?" Kage uttered before his eyes shut and his body finally hit the floor.

"Kage!" Erza shouted, realizing that if this man died their chances of escaping effectively dropped to about zero.

The green-haired wizard that had perpetrated the attack just stammered and released quiet, short gasps in rapid succession, almost as if he couldn't really grasp the gravity of what he had just done. Nevertheless, he was still rendered immobile, and that allowed him to learn just how pissed off he had made several different people.

"You…" Ichigo growled out.

Without giving it a second thought, the orange-haired teen grabbed the stout man's collar and pulled him out of the wall, which said wizard didn't even seem to register for a moment. Immediately thereafter, Ichigo slammed the man's body into the very same wall so hard that it left an imprint, and even despite the nature of the mage's magical powers, he appeared to be too shocked to negate the blow by phasing through the stone.

"Even if you're in a dark guild, that man is still your comrade! Does that mean nothing to you?! Why would you try to kill someone who you should think of as a friend?!" Ichigo roared, glaring and scowling extremely heavily at the green-haired man.

"Uh… uhhh…" Karacka moaned out, simply being too shocked to form a coherent sentence.

"No answer? Thought not… piece of trash." Ichigo scoffed, after which he simply dropped the man flat on his rear.

Karacka almost immediately retreated back into the stone wall from whence he came, but a certain pink-haired dragon slayer wasn't about to let the scum get away with taking down his comrade.

"Oh no you don't." Natsu growled out, veins popping out on his forehead.

His fists lit up a moment later, after which he absolutely and utterly destroyed the wall that was placed in front of them. Subsequently thereafter the body of the green-haired phase magic user slammed into the floor of the following room, landing with a loud boom.

"Is that how you dark guild members treat each other?!" Natsu exclaimed, shortly after which he punched Karacka through the wall opposite of his current position.

"Kage, can you hear me?!" Erza questioned.

"I think we're losin' him Erza." Gray stated, checking the body for signs of life.

"We can't lose him. We need him to dispel the wind barrier!" Erza shouted.

"He's unconscious, it's no use." Gray replied.

"We have to try." Erza said.

The scarlet-haired mage then began to shake Kage's body, slamming his head into the floor repeatedly in the process. Gray watched her actions paly out with a sweatdrop while Ichigo just released a tired sigh.

"If you want him to wake up, don't keep banging his head against the floor. Also I doubt he could even use magic in that condition." Ichigo stated evenly.

"He will if I force him to." Erza replied, still shaking the dark wizard's body.

"Um… did we miss something?" Lucy wondered aloud as she and the blue-furred Exceed entered via the large hole that Natsu had sent Kage through during their battle.

"Aye…" Happy said confusedly.

_**Some Time Later…**_

"I see, so we're basically stuck here?" Lucy asked, eliciting a nod from several within the group.

"But we have to stop Erigor from reaching the guild masters!" Natsu exclaimed angrily.

"I know that Natsu! Calm down!" Erza chided, causing the pink-haired mage to pale.

"I think we all need to calm down… is there anything any of you can think of that we can do to get out of this mess?" Ichigo asked calmly.

"I… don't know. The wind barrier is too powerful for any of us to bully through, and our one hope of dispelling it is currently unconscious." Erza replied, sounding slightly worried.

"Hang on… let me try something." Ichigo stated.

The entirety of those present watched as the orange-haired teen pulled his sword off of his back and prepared to stab it directly into the wind barrier. This, in turn, confused many given that it wasn't all too likely that an ordinary sword was going to have a shot at breaking through, but even so it was worth a try.

Ichigo stabbed his zanpakuto directly into the flowing current of wind, actually managing to keep his sword steady if he used all of his strength to do so. No matter how hard he tried, however, he couldn't go in the direction of the current and create an opening for the others, the momentum and speed of the wind was simply too great for him to do such a thing with physical strength alone. With that known, he retracted his sword, a scowl once again present on his face.

"Dammit." Ichigo spat.

"Let me try!" Natsu exclaimed.

Immediately after he was about to run up and charge the wind barrier head on, a lone hand placed on his shoulder stopped him dead in his tracks. He turned to see that the ownership of said hand belonged to Ichigo, who had a stern look on his features.

"If my sword doesn't break through that wind barrier, trust me when I say that your fists wont. Even if you try, you'll just end up being hurt and we need to save our strength." Ichigo said seriously.

In any normal circumstance Natsu would have ignored the warning and charged in anyway, however this was not a normal circumstance. Moreover, the tone Ichigo used was just too ominous, and something told him that those words rang true.

"But what else can we do?" Natsu asked confusedly.

The group collectively went silent, mostly due to the fact that they currently had nothing to offer. Charging into the barrier in the hopes of taking it down appeared to be pointless and foolish, and waiting for Kage to come to would likely be a waste of time due to the fact that even if he were to wake up it was very unlikely that he would be able to use his magic energy to dispel the barrier.

'_If I really had to… I could try to use my Getsuga Tenshou to break through the barrier, which would probably work, but even if it did the amount of spiritual energy I'd use would tear this station apart along with whatever in the city I would wind up hitting after it broke through, and that definitely wouldn't be an ideal outcome._' Ichigo thought. However, the way that things were going he was beginning to think that they were fresh out of other options.

"Wait, Lucy, can't we just use your spirits?!" Natsu exclaimed, causing everyone else's ear to perk up as a result.

"Wha?" Lucy uttered.

"Back at Everlue's I was transported from one place to another through the spirit world." Natsu stated excitedly, believing that he had figured out a way to solve their dilemma.

"Yeah, but normal people would just suffocate to death in the celestial spirit world. Also it's against contract rules. I didn't mind when you did it before because it was Everlue's key, not mine. Besides, I would have to have opened the gate from outside the wind barrier for that to even remotely work." Lucy replied, striking down that as an option.

"Lucy! I just remembered what I was trying to tell you on the way here!" Happy exclaimed.

"What, you mean when you were calling me weird?" Lucy asked.

"Here!" Happy chirped, presenting a golden celestial spirit key to the blonde.

"How'd you get your hands on Virgo's key?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Wait, who?" Ichigo wondered aloud, his words matching the thoughts of both Erza and Gray.

"Oh yeah, that big gorilla lookin' maid." Natsu recalled.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you not to steal?" Lucy asked, punching the cat's mouth in a comical fashion.

"But I didn't steal it, Virgo asked me to give it to you." Happy stated, after which the blonde-haired wizard released him from her grip.

"We don't have time to waste on this kind of stuff." Gray scoffed.

"Apparently, her contract with Everlue ended as soon as he was arrested. Before we all left that day she came up to me and said that she wanted to sign a new contract with you Lucy." Happy explained.

"Thanks for letting me know, but I'll deal with her later. In case you didn't notice, we need to find a way out of here." Lucy stated.

"But…" Happy began.

"Shut up! Why can't you just meow like a normal cat?!" Lucy asked, a dark aura surrounding her body as she pinched the feline's delicate face.

"She can be pretty scary…" Gray commented.

"Probably learned it from Erza." Natsu mused, cheerfully observing the blonde's interaction with his best friend.

"I'm sorry. I just thought that since Virgo can drill holes… maybe she could dig through the ground and get us to the other side of the barrier." Happy stated in a dejected manner, obviously not taking the fact that his attempt at helping his comrades went over so poorly.

"She can what?!" Ichigo, Erza, and Gray exclaimed in unison.

"Oh yeah…" Natsu trailed off, tapping his chin at the recollection of the pink-haired spirit's abilities.

"That's right! Why didn't you say that before, you brilliant, adorable little cat?" Lucy cooed in an upbeat tone.

"I was trying to, but someone was pinching my face." Happy replied.

"My deepest apologies, now can I please have the key?" Lucy pleaded, bowing humbly before the blue-haired feline.

"Give me some fish and all is forgiven!" Happy chirped, after which he relinquished the key.

"By the way, see if you do away with that contract crap for right now. We don't have much time when Erigor has this much of a head start." Ichigo stated.

"I know, I was going to, but before I can even do that I have to summon her." Lucy replied.

The blonde took the traditional stance she preferred to use when summoning a spirit for the first time, at which point she zoned out all other distractions and focused on the task of opening the celestial portal.

"I call upon thee, in the world of the celestial spirits. And now, I beckon you to my side at once, pass through the gate!" Lucy incanted, flipping the key in the air before grabbing it with her hand.

"Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!" Lucy exclaimed.

When the portal had opened and said spirit answered the call of the celestial wizard, the full form of the presumably ape-like creature was in full view. However, she was anything but how she had been previously described. Before the group stood a petite young-looking woman with pure blue eyes, peach-colored skin, and pink hair. She wore a maid's outfit, and for some reason sported a pair of shackles that were disconnected from one another other respective wrists.

"What can I do for you mistress?" Virgo questioned respectfully, bowing slightly to the blonde-haired mage.

"Who are you?" Lucy uttered, seemingly incapable of saying anything else.

"What's up Burger, man you look great. You've lost some weight." Natsu commented in a friendly manner.

"My name's Virgo, I apologize for any trouble I might've caused." Virgo replied.

"Wait, this is the maid that you said looked like a big ape?" Ichigo asked confusedly, gesturing a finger towards the pink-haired spirit.

"Yeah, and she didn't just lose weight, she's a completely different person!" Lucy shouted.

"I'm a very loyal spirit who'll do anything to please her wizard. Therefore I take on any form I feel my wizard will find most appealing." Virgo explained with a small smile.

"I dunno, I kind of liked the other you better." Natsu thought aloud.

"Oh, I can fix that." Virgo stated.

An instant later, and much to the surprise and dismay of everyone else present, the celestial spirit took on the very same form she dawned when working under Duke Everlue.

'_Holy crap, she really did look like an ape._' Ichigo thought.

"Don't listen to him! I'm your wizard and I like the other form better!" Lucy shouted, prompting the spirit to obey and revert to her more petite visage.

"As you wish mistress." Virgo replied.

"We're kind of short on time right now, so do you mind if we work out the details of our contract later?" Lucy asked in a hopeful tone.

"Of course, whatever you'd like mistress." Virgo replied, though a particular word she used had rubbed the blonde the wrong way.

"Do you really have to call me that?" Lucy wondered aloud, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Oh? Would you prefer I call you queen?" Virgo asked.

"No." Lucy immediately answered.

"What about princess?" Virgo asked.

"Oh yeah, that'll work just fine." Lucy replied with a vein look about her features.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Ichigo wondered aloud, getting a quiet chuckle from both Gray and Natsu.

"Can you please just drill a hole to the other side? We desperately need to get out of here as soon as possible." Erza said, getting back on track.

"As you wish." Virgo sated.

An instant later the pink-haired woman bowed slightly before she activated her magical abilities. A magic seal appeared underneath her feet, after which she went to work, quite literally. Within seconds a large hole appeared, giving everyone else the clear message that they had their ticket out.

"Let's get out of this joint." Gray said as he walked towards the hole.

"Hang on…" Natsu trailed off, drawing all eyes to him.

Everyone turned to see the dragon slayer with the arm of their technical enemy hoisted across his shoulders and the body being supported as a result. It was very clear what the wizard's intent was, and yet still it was necessary to make sure.

"What do you think you're doing Natsu?" Gray asked evenly.

"I don't really like him, but I'd feel guilty for him if we just left him here to die." Natsu stated.

"Well then I don't see a problem…" Ichigo trialed off, throwing his own human body over his shoulders before he walked up to the dragon slayer's side.

"Very well." Erza permitted.

_**Outside Oshibana Station, Several Minutes Later…**_

"Looks like we made it out." Gray mused.

It was more along the lines of stating the obvious given that every member of the group was currently looking back as the wind barrier continued to rage on the outskirts of the building they had just exited.

"Hey, where did Natsu go?" Ichigo asked, shifting his head and finding not a trace of Fairy Tail's resident dragon slayer.

"I don't see Happy either." Lucy commented.

"That probably just means that Natsu went after Erigor. Happy is capable of flying at extremely high speeds, so if ever there was a chance to catch up to Erigor, that'd be the one." Erza explained.

"It's no use… he'll never be able to catch up to Erigor, and neither will any of you. We can't be stopped now… we've won." Kage stated.

The members of the group scowled down at the beaten and battered form of the Eisenwald wizard, shortly after which Ichigo set down his body and looked back to his teammates with a serious expression etched on his face. Though they were all confused by this, clearly he was about to say something and so no one bothered to voice said emotion.

"If Natsu went after Erigor then I'll go after him as fast as I can. I need one of you to put my human body in the magic mobile and head to Clover. With any luck, you'll run into us on the way there." Ichigo said before he began to walk off.

"Wait Ichigo, how are you going to catch up? I know your fast, but still…" Lucy said confusedly.

"What she says is true. It is best if you simply come with us on the magic mobile." Erza added.

"Trust me, I can catch up." Ichigo stated, releasing a slight chuckle.

Before anyone could raise a question as to how or why the teen though this, Ichigo vanished in a blur of light. It was almost as if he had just disappeared without a trace.

"What?" Gray muttered, looking at the spot where the substitute had been standing with slightly widened eyes.

"Did he just vanish?" Lucy questioned, looking to the scarlet-haired knight for an answer.

"Yes… I believe he did." Erza replied.

Moreover, she couldn't even sense his presence. It was as if he had traveled so far out of immediate sensory range that his movements couldn't even be detected. That was actual impressive, as the queen of the fairies had never seen anything like it in all her years as a wizard.

"Anyway, we should probably get going. Something tells me when we head to Clover we'll find Natsu and Ichigo on the way." Gray stated, prompting everyone else present to nod in understanding.

_**Railway Towards Clover: With Erigor…**_

Eisenwald's ace currently flew towards the guild master's conference without a care in the world. Actually, that wasn't true in that he cared a good bit about ending their lives, but at the same time he wasn't pressured in the slightest. His plan had, thus far, gone off without a single hitch.

'_And those Fairy Tail flies are still trapped within my wind barrier. I have to say though that I regret not teaching the queen of the Fairy's and that orange-haired brat a lesson._' Erigor thought. At the same time, killing the guild masters came first, he supposed.

The silver-haired man abruptly stopped in his path, his eyes widening slightly as he sensed something incoming, and it was simply moving too fast to ignore. With a curious expression, he turned around, looking off into the distance to see what on earth was going on.

'_What the hell is that?_' Erigor wondered.

Off in the distance he saw an object that moved so quickly it was shining, but that was only for a brief moment. A second or two later it became closer, at which point he saw exactly what it was, and he simply couldn't believe his eyes.

"We've got ya now! Didn't know cats could fly at mock speeds did ya?!" Natsu shouted as he flew towards his the wind magic user, his own hands grabbing Happy's legs

"What?" Erigor uttered in a tone of disbelief.

The flaming foot of the dragon slayer connected with his body shortly thereafter, causing an explosion to engulf Erigor's form and a significant amount of smoke to cover his fall towards the train tracks.

Both Natsu and his opponent landed on their feet, the dragon slayer doing so with his back facing the wind magic user. He caught Happy in his hands a moment later, taking note that the Exceed looked incredibly tired and worn out.

"You alright little buddy?" Natsu asked, a touch of concern making its way into his voice.

"I'm fine… but… so tired… I can't fly…" Happy whispered weakly.

"Don't worry about it. I think I can handle it from here." Natsu replied, setting the blue-haired feline on the grounds below.

"You're one of those pesky Fairy Tail flies. I take it you're here to stop me?" Erigor mused, after which his opponent turned to face him with a stern glare etched on his features.

"Ya got that right ya dress wearin' windbag. I'm kickin' your ass for Fairy Tail!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Heh, funny. Get out of my way kid, or else." Erigor said warningly, bringing up a hand and gesturing an open palm towards the dragon slayer.

A magical seal appeared before the extended open palm, after which a powerful gust of wind poured forth. It washed over the pink-haired mage like an unstoppable tide, little by little moving his feet backward weather he wanted them to or not.

"Is that all you got?!" Natsu taunted, immediately after which the wind picked up to such a speed that it caused a slight explosion where he stood.

From the smoke and dust that resulted from Erigor's attack, the dragon slayer shot into the air, fire propelling his movements and flames once again covering his fists. He shot back down towards Erigor with all the fury of an actual dragon, power just written within his eyes.

The reaper dodged the attack, leaping backwards and evading any significant damage. He did, however, get a front row seat to the pink-haired mage smashing his previous position into a million tiny pieces.

"I ain't lettin' you off that easy!" Natsu exclaimed, lunging towards the silver-haired man without delay.

Erigor brought up his scythe, effectively blocking the fire-reinforced attack and once again getting out of the current engagement without any injury. When the dragon slayer proved to be done with his assault, the reaper then floated back into the air, gazing down at his opponent in an observational manner.

'_Impossible… he uses his flames to jump and to strike. I underestimated his power, this might actually be a challenge._' Erigor thought, releasing a slight chuckle to himself.

"Hey, what're you doing up there? Come down here and fight me like a man!" Natsu demanded.

"Don't get to cocky fly!" Erigor shouted, extending his hand and preparing to cast a powerful attack.

'_What the hell?!_' Natsu wondered, feeling a large amount of magical energy building from underneath his feet.

"Storm Bringer!" Erigor exclaimed, subsequently after which a large tornado-like burst of wind erupted from underneath his opponent.

Natsu was spun around the vortex of wind as if he truly weighed nothing at all. At the same time he was helpless to do anything given that he couldn't even regain his footing to the point that he could exit the torrent of high velocity air.

"Natsu." Happy uttered upon seeing his friend in trouble.

The blue-haired cat tried with all his might to call forth his wings once again, but to no avail. He was simply too drained to do anything whatsoever, and, as a result, all he could do was watch.

"It's no use… I don't have enough magic energy." Happy thought aloud.

"AAAAAAA!" Natsu screamed as he fell from the apex of the tornado, skyrocketing to the bottom of the canyon.

Before he passed the ground level of the railway, a hand quickly grabbed his wrist, stopping his fall and effectively stabilizing his current trajectory. The dragon slayer looked up to see Ichigo standing on the side of the train tracks with his hand firmly gripping his wrist.

"I've got you… now get your ass back up here so we can end this." Ichigo said with a smirk.

Natsu responded in kind, smirking in a manner similar to his friend before he was pulled up and once again felt the sensation of solid ground being located beneath his feet. If anything, the current situation only appealed to him because at least now he got to see more of what Ichigo could do.

It still didn't make sense to him that the orange-haired teen managed to get here so fast. However, given that Ichigo saved him the trouble of wasting magical energy to bail himself out of the mess he had gotten himself into, he supposed it didn't matter at the moment.

"What's this, another fly comes to be swatted down?" Erigor sneered from the air.

"You know something Erigor, you really piss me off." Ichigo stated, turning around and unsheathing his sword

"Oh, and what are you going to do about it, Fairy Tail fl…" Erigor began.

He stopped his sentence the moment the form of the orange-haired teen appeared directly in front of him with his sword cocked back and prepared to cut him across his body.

At the rate the sword was moving coupled with how quickly its wielder had appeared before him there was quite literally nothing he could do but back up as quickly as he was able and hope the blade didn't leave too deep a wound.

'_I didn't even see him move…_' Erigor thought, sweating slightly in the buildup to the sword's impact with his flesh.

The Eisenwald's ace's blood poured forth as the large cleaver-like zanpakuto cut across his body, leaving a fresh wound and simultaneously forcing the wind magic user to shoot backwards and fall into the ground in an attempt to gather himself.

However, no sooner than he landed did the dragon slayer mount another attack in succession to his comrade's first. The flaming fist connected directly with Erigor's cheek, catching him completely off guard, which subsequently sent the silver-haired man reeling across the train tracks yet again.

"That's what you get for messin' with Fairy Tail." Natsu stated proudly.

"Nice hit." Ichigo complimented as he landed on the ground.

"Thanks for the opening to land it." Natsu replied, smirking heavily at the orange-haired teen.

'_These insects dare to wound me?_' Erigor thought angrily as he picked himself off of the ground.

The reaper floated off into the air once again, staring down at the two opponents and glaring heavily at them. Despite the fact that they currently had the upper hand, there was still a trick or two that he had yet to play.

"Hey… how did you move that fast back there?" Natsu asked, turning to the substitute with a confused look etched on his face.

"What are you referring to?" Ichigo asked.

"You know what I mean, when you vanished and appeared right in front of the worn out windbag." Natsu clarified.

"I'll tell you later. For now we should finish this fight before Erza and the others get here." Ichigo stated.

"Right." Natsu replied, after which they turned their collective vision towards the silver-haired wizard once again.

"Heh… you flies are resilient, I'll give you that. However now I think it's time I got serious." Erigor began.

The Eisewald mage brought forth his scythe and placed it in front of his body, after which he tapped the shaft and began to spin it rapidly in circles. As it continued its motion, a large amount of magic energy manifested as wind began to gather, pulling and throwing around rocks and dust as it continued to rage.

"Wind Mail!" Erigor exclaimed.

A large amount of wind surrounded his body, acting like a barrier and continuously raging on at high speeds. From first glance, it didn't look to be all that strong, but only time would tell, of course.

'_That barrier would have to be pretty powerful for him to be that cocky again._' Ichigo thought.

"Hehehe, this is one of my most powerful spells. All of your attacks are now useless against me." Erigor stated cockily from within the confines of his Wind Mail.

The dark wizard even went so far as to come back onto the ground, allowing both Ichigo and Natsu the chance to charge at him head on. It was either a show of arrogance, or the barrier was really just that strong.

"We'll see about that." Natsu scoffed.

His fists lit up like a blazing inferno a moment later, after which he charged his opponent with everything he had, not giving an inch. Unfortunately, just as his punches were about to connect with the barrier the flames vanished, leaving the dragon slayer powerless and incapable of doing any significant damage.

"Get out of there Natsu!" Ichigo exclaimed worriedly.

The pink-haired wizard had heard the warning, but he was unable to respond to it. Without even a slight warning, Erigor sent a powerful blast of wind directly at Natsu, knocking him back far across the railway.

Ichigo caught the dragon slayer and stabilized his would-be crash landing, after which he opted to use flash step in order to get the jump on the silver-haired man just as he had done before.

He appeared directly behind the dark wizard and brought Zangetsu across the wind barrier and presumably Erigor's body. When the sword did nothing more than go along with the current of the wind barrier, Ichigo scowled, knowing full well that the barrier, though it was capable of being lightly penetrated, was far too thick to completely cut through.

Well, that wasn't entirely true, but if Ichigo used the necessary force to cut through the barrier he would end up slicing Erigor into two separate pieces, which he would like to avoid if at all possible.

"Nice try!" Erigor shouted, turning around and making an attempt to send the orange-haired teen flying off just as he had previously done with the dragon slayer.

However, the moment that he had turned and launched his attack was the very same moment he realized that the man was no longer behind him. With a scowl marking his face from beneath the wind barrier, Erigor turned to face his opponents once more.

"Though you are still in one piece, it matters not. It is as I thought, the both of you cannot break through my wind barrier, and your fire magic is completely useless against me!" Erigor exclaimed.

'_He isn't wrong… those flames will be snuffed out if Natsu comes in too close just by the direction of the wind… but is that really all there is to it?_' Ichigo wondered, thinking of a way he could get past the incredibly annoying magical spell.

He could always just use Getsuga Tenshou, but that would be more than overkill, and there was also a high possibility that Erigor would be mortally wounded. If he wanted to accomplish that, then just slicing him in two would be infinitely easier.

On top of that, and probably the greater of the two concerns involving the use of Getsuga Tenshou, was that an attack like that would completely blow away the railway, and doing so would definitely attract the wrong kind of attention towards him.

'_Plus if I do end up blowing the train tracks away, I'm pretty sure the old man would throw a fit._' Ichigo thought.

The orange-haired teen continued to think on other possible avenues to defeat his and Natsu's collective opponent. However, none of them seemed very feasible unless the wind barrier was taken down. If that were to suddenly disappear, then they would easily be able to win.

'_Wait… that's it!_' Ichigo thought.

In a moment of realization, his eyes widened and he turned to Natsu, completely understanding a very specific way they could defeated the reaper and save the guild masters.

"Natsu, crank up your flames as high as you can!" Ichigo shouted urgently.

The pink-haired wizard looked slightly confused at the odd request for a moment, but an instant later his expression twisted into a knowing smirk. He understood perfectly well where this was going, and if their hunch was correct, it would give them the victory.

"You got it!" Natsu exclaimed, after which his body erupted in a torrent of fire and flames.

A raging inferno extended into the sky, becoming a practical pillar of destruction as the dragon slayer roared on and on from within the epicenter. The heat quickly grew to an outrageous level of intensity, at which point the wind from Erigor's barrier did precisely what was expected.

'_Impossible, my Wind Mail is… its fading?!_' Erigor thought in a slight panic.

"With the flames heating the air it's creating a high pressure area, which is also drawing in the wind from Erigor's spell. Waita go Natsu!" Happy cheered.

'_His fire magic is so strong, how can he possible be this powerful?_' Erigor thought, sweating as his protective barrier and practical trump card was so easily cast aside.

He didn't even have time to come up with an effective countermeasure as within the next moment Ichigo appeared out of thin air directly in front of him, after which he sent his zanpakuto slashing down the right side of Erigor's body without a second thought.

The silver-haired man fell backwards, blood pouring from his wound and his eyes closing, likely due to the intense pain he currently felt. Without a doubt, however, he was out cold, and with that the victory went to Fairy Tail.

"You should've just given up when I offered. Maybe then we wouldn't have had to beat the crap out of you." Ichigo stated, though he knew the Eisenwald ace couldn't hear him.

"Is he gonna live?" Natsu asked evenly as he waked up to observe the defeated form of his opponent.

"Yeah, I didn't cut him too deep. He'll live, but he's down for the count." Ichigo replied.

"Alright, we won!" Natsu stated contentedly, dancing around in circles in a childish manner.

"Yeah, it looks like we did." Ichigo mused, releasing a slight chuckle upon staring back at the teen he had come to see as a good friend in such a short period of time.

He sheathed Zangetsu once again, after which he kneeled down and took the Lullaby flute from Erigor's possession. Doing so finally brought this battle to a close, and it also marked the defeat of Eisenwald, or so he thought.

"Good job by the way. You fought really well." Ichigo complimented, smiling at the pin-haired mage.

"Heh, you were really good yourself. We make a pretty good team, just like I thought we would." Natsu said with a wide grin.

"I guess so…" Ichigo replied, releasing an inward chuckle at the words of the dragon slayer.

"Hey look, it's everyone else!" Natsu shouted happily, pointing his index finger towards an approaching magic mobile.

The vehicle came to an abrupt halt, skidding slightly across the rock that marked the railway, but successfully not running anyone over nonetheless. A moment later its occupants left the inside, after which the remaining members of their group were shown to wear proud smiles at the scene that greeted them.

At the moment Erza was being supported by Lucy, likely due to the fact that her magical energy was still so drained. Opposite of those two, Gray walked on carrying Ichigo's body, which was a good thing given that the substitute had thought they had potentially forgotten it.

"Gray, why don't you have clothes anymore?" Ichigo asked tiredly, at this point just accepting the fact that the raven-haired ice wizard had a habit of losing them.

"What are you…" Gray began, looking down an instantly noticing that his clothes were missing. He then released a tired groan, but it had happened several times today thus far so there was really no use complaining about it.

"Never mind…" Ichigo sighed out.

"Looks like you two really did get the job done after all." Erza mused, smiling slightly at the duo.

"Yup… here's our souvenir." Ichigo said jokingly, tossing the skull-headed flute towards the redhead in a nonchalant manner.

"Excellent, with this we have succeeded in saving Clover and the guild masters." Erza said contentedly.

"I'm surprised since Natsu was the first one to fight him. I was sure he'd screw it up." Gray scoffed.

"Hey, we beat him didn't we?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Yeah, but I was worried for a second there…" Happy muttered.

"What, you guys didn't think I could take down Erigor?" Natsu asked as if the very notion insulted him.

"You were doing pretty well… but if Ichigo didn't show up when he did you were looking at a one way ticket to the bottom of the canyon." Happy countered.

"I had it under control!" Natsu stated defensively, though the words of the blue-haired cat seemed to cause the others to remember something.

"Speaking of which, how exactly did you catch up to Natsu so quickly?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Yes, I would like to know as well. You simply vanished before our eyes and I couldn't sense your presence after you had." Erza added.

"Are you guys talking about that vanishing trick? It's really awesome!" Natsu said excitedly.

"Vanishing trick? You mean…" Ichigo began.

A moment later a light buzz sounded off, after which his body, for a brief period of time, vanished from sight. He appeared a moment later directly behind Natsu, placing a hand on the dragon slayers shoulders and effectively startling him and simultaneously impressing the group given that none of them had seen or predicted where he had moved.

"Gah!" Natsu yelped, almost instantly jumping forward and turning around to see what had just touched his shoulder.

"Nice one." Gray complimented sarcastically, referring to the pink-haired wizards' evident distress.

"Why'd you have to do that man?!" Natsu exclaimed, clenching his heart as it was beating rather quickly. For a split second he thought Erigor had come to and was about to cut into his back, which wasn't exactly a pleasant thought.

"Sorry, but you wanted to see it again, right?" Ichigo reasoned.

"What exactly is that technique? Are you teleporting or manipulating space, perhaps time?" Erza guessed, eliciting a shake of the head from the orange-haired teen.

"No, not really. It's a technique called flash step that allows me to travel great distances by using my spiritual energy to forward my movements. When I do this, it allows me to move much faster than I would be able to at any natural speeds." Ichigo replied.

"Can other people where you're from do that too?" Natsu asked from his position of sitting on the ground, having still not gotten up.

"Yeah, it's pretty common, but the speed of the flash step varies from person to person. Mine is pretty quick, but at the same time even I'm easily outclassed by a few other people in that regard." Ichigo explained.

The substitute then looked towards his body, which Gray picked up on and then held up so as to allow Ichigo a free passageway back into himself, technically. A moment later the two separate forms became one, and once again the orange-haired teen opened his eyes and felt the release of being able to move freely in his own skin.

"By the way Natsu, you look like an idiot wearing that scarf while you're half-naked." Gray commented upon relinquishing Ichigo's body.

"You're one to talk… hey, Lucy, give me your clothes." Natsu requested.

"In your dreams!" Lucy growled.

"What the hell's the matter with you?! You can't just say things like that, it makes you seem like a pervert." Ichigo chided, lightly smacking the dragon slayer on the back of his head.

"Ouch, what was that for?" Natsu asked, rubbing his head slightly.

"Were you even listening?!" Ichigo exclaimed, though he knew the answer.

The remaining members of the group chuckled at the display, after which the full weight of the situation finally reached them. Everything was over, in actuality, since the guild masters were safe and Eisenwald was defeated.

"Anyway, well done you two." Erza complimented.

Before a reply could be made, the abrupt sound of an engine revving up came from down the railway. Each turned to see the magic mobile charging forward, with a very familiar back-haired dark wizard sitting in the driver's seat and a series of shadowy limbs extending all around.

"Too slow Fairy Tail flies!" Kage exclaimed, driving past the group of enemy wizards and heading straight down the tracks towards Clover.

As he passed, however, he didn't do so empty handed. The shadowy tendrils grabbed two very specific items from the clutches of the Fairy Tail guild members. One was rather obvious, the death flute known as Lullaby, but the other was the wooden skull badge that Ichigo had used to access his powers.

'_What the hell?!_' Ichigo wondered, noticing the absence of the combat pass the second after it occurred.

"We have to go after him!" Erza exclaimed.

With a begrudging nod, each of the members began to run after the rouge wizard without delay. The one positive of the situation was that Kage didn't have all too much magical energy, at least in all likelihood. Due to this, even if Clover was just up ahead, he likely wouldn't be able to get there all that quicker than they would be able to.

'_I just hope we make it there in time._' Ichigo thought.

_**Clover: Forests Outside the Guild Master's Conference, Some Time Later…**_

The raven-haired Eisewald wizard stood in place atop a peak overlooking the guild master's conference. He had been forced to abandon the magi mobile some time ago, and the sun had set around that very same time, but nevertheless he had made it with time to spare.

Without a shadow of a doubt the wizard masters were present within that building, and his current location afforded him with a simply perfect position.

'_From up here, Lullaby's magic will surely kill them… our time is here._' Kage thought victoriously, tightening his grip on the demonic flute.

A random noise from a nearby bush broke the dark wizard out of his thoughts, and incidentally startled him given that no one should actually be this far away from Clover and at this specific location. The only ones who were decent candidates to fill that slot were the Fairy Tail wizards that had followed him, but at the same time they shouldn't have been here so soon.

He walked over to carefully examine the situation, after which he released an inward sigh of relief. It was just some random old man perversely enjoying a copy of what appeared to be Sorcerer's Weekly, and the previous week's edition no less.

"Oh wow, now that's really somethin'…" Makarov thought aloud, releasing a perverse giggle after he did so.

Seeing this, however, gave the raven-haired mage an idea. Despite this man's appearance, he was definitely one of the guild masters, and that meant he was powerful. All the same, this opportunity presented a marvelous opening to test Lullaby's power firsthand.

"Excuse me sir…" Kage called out, startling the elderly mage as he did so.

"I-it's not what it looks like!" Makarov exclaimed, hiding the magazine behind his back as he spoke.

The orange-clad man stopped his brief instance of panic upon getting a good look at the mere boy that had startled him so randomly. He appeared rather injured, bandages covering his body and his clothing torn. At the moment there wasn't even a shirt to cover his back.

"You've been hurt badly boy. You shouldn't be wandering around the woods in your condition." Makarov stated.

"Yes sir… its jut that I was… I was curious about something. I wanted to know if you'd care to hear a song. You see they wouldn't let me play it in the hospital, and I really would like for someone to hear me play." Kage replied in a friendly voice, smiling down at the rather short man.

"That's one creepy flute you got there…" Makarov commented warily.

"I know, but it has a beautiful sound." Kage reassured, chuckling slightly as he spoke.

"Hmmm… well I should be going… but I guess one song couldn't hurt." Makarov mused, deciding that a few minutes wouldn't truly prevent Natsu's group from destroying a city.

"Oh thank you. Now… be sure to pay close attention." Kage stated, eliciting a nod from the elderly wizard.

He brought the flute up to his mouth, realizing that this was it, the final moments before his triumph. It was fitting that the master of the Fairy Tail guild would be the first victim after all they did to him and his own guild, if not ironic.

However, he paused, not bringing his lips to connect with the wood and not breathing into it so as to sound off the melody of death. Kage knew he should relish the opportunity, and yet his mind simply prevented him from acting.

All the words, the fact that the Fairy Tail wizards had saved him, even the words of his comrades, popped into his head. The words of the annoying dragon slayer, of the orange-haired teen with the large sword, of the blonde celestial mage, everything they had ever said to him or in front of him contradicted what he thought to be true.

Erigor and the others would essentially denounce the legitimacy of joining a legal guild, in fact they despised the notion. They even went so far as to scoff at the mere implication. If he too was of that opinion, then this should have been easy, but the fact of the matter was that it was far from it.

'_Why… why can't I bring myself to do it? It would be so easy… but what the things that they all said… were we… were we wrong… am I wrong in doing this?_' Kage wondered, not moving a muscle and standing in silence.

_**Forests off to the Side…**_

"There he is, he's with the master!" Erza exclaimed.

She and the others had come up towards the town and found the magic mobile off in the distance, a clear indicator that Kage was, in fact, somewhere close by. Now they had the dark wizard in their sights, however when they began to run forwards someone stopped them.

"Shhh… you're gonna miss the good part." Bob stated, bringing a finger over his mouth to further illustrate his request for silence.

Most members of the group froze up at the sight of the effeminate bald man who appeared to be cross-dressing at the moment. His appearance was just disturbing, but he seemed pleasant enough, perhaps too pleasant towards some.

"My, now aren't you boys just a bunch of cutie's." Bob cooed.

At this, Ichigo's expression turned into one of absolute terror. Natsu and Gray were much the same, however they had the added benefit of being able to move behind Ichigo just in case they needed a human shield.

"Damn you're creepy…" Ichigo muttered, which coming from him truly did mean something.

"Who's that guy?" Lucy asked confusedly.

"That's Master Bob…" Erza replied, sweatdropping as the bald-headed man began to dance very strangely around Ichigo, and by extension the two mages who still hid behind him. The strange man stopped a moment later, after which he relented and turned instead towards Erza.

"Oh, Erza honey, you've really filled out." Bob commented.

"You're telling me that weirdo's the master of the Blue Pegasus guild?" Lucy asked quietly, though her tone was one of disbelief.

"Better question, why the hell aren't you stopping Kage? You guys seem to know what he's doing…" Ichigo said.

"Waddaya mean by 'you guys'?" Natsu asked confusedly, momentarily putting aside the severe feelings of distress he was currently experiencing due to a certain quirky guild master.

"Hehe, this one's observant, I like that." Goldmine chuckled as he walked up to the group from within the woods.

"Master Goldmine? You're here as well?" Erza asked confusedly.

"Yeah, now keep quiet. We're about to get to the good part." Goldmine replied.

In the presence of two guild masters telling them not to do anything, the members of the Fairy Tail guild decided to take the order and reaming quiet. Why they were asked to, they didn't know, but nevertheless they clearly knew what they were doing.

They continued to watch as Kage didn't do a thing, which actually surprised them given that he was so close to completing the mission of his guild. Despite this, the man was currently hesitating. Once this was evident, little by little, the remaining onlookers began to grasp what the guild masters were aiming at.

"Nothing's going to change…" Makarov abruptly said, surprising raven-haired wizard with his words.

"W-what?" Kage muttered, taking note that the elderly wizard had turned his heel and allowed his back to face him.

"You cannot change the fact that those who are weak will remain weak… but I don't think that's a bad thing. I mean we humans are weak creatures by nature. Our insecurities are the reason that guilds even exist… and there why we have friends." Makarov continued, turning to face the dark wizard once more.

"When we're surrounded by allies it's easy to stay positive about the future. Think of it this way… if we're clumsy we may stumble and bump into things, but as long as we have faith in our future we continue marching forward, our inner strength immerges on its own. But we have to choose that path and pledge to live our lives to the fullest. Don't let that silly flue get in the way." Makarov finished.

Somewhat to the surprise of everyone pleasant, but most certainly to their relief and joy, the wooden death flute fell from Kage's hands and the dark wizard fell to his hands and knees in front of Makarov, a defeated expression on his face but a burden clearly lifted from his shoulders.

'_Well done old man…_' Ichigo thought with a smirk. He was starting so see exactly why the elderly wizard so respected and revered within the Fairy Tail guild.

"I surrender." Kage uttered.

"Waita go master!" Natsu exclaimed as he and the others ran towards the elderly mage.

"What the… how did you kids get all the way here to Clover?" Makarov asked confusedly.

"It's a long story…" Ichigo replied.

"Does it end with a city being blown up?" Makarov asked with a raised brow.

"Nope." Natsu replied.

"Then fantastic!" Makarov stated, jumping into the air in a victorious manner.

"Master…" Erza began, grabbing the elderly mage and slamming his body into her armor. It was likely a gesture of mild affection, but it seemed to give the guild master a good bump on the head.

"I was so moved by your words I was almost brought to tears." Erza continued.

"Well that's just gramps for ya, waita talk your way out of another one." Gray commented.

"**Hehehehehehe…**" A demonic laughter sounded off.

Everyone's eyes widened slightly upon that voice registering within their ears. They knew perfectly well that it belonged to no one present, which meant that it was definitely going to be something unexpected. That was ironic given that fact that this was not just the first, but the second time this ordeal was presumably over.

"**I've grown tired of you wizards and your antics!**" The voice continued.

An incredibly large magical seal appeared in the skies overlooking the conference hall. A moment later the death flute known as Lullaby floated towards the nexus of energy, its demonic voice evidently speaking as it did so.

"**I shall devour you myself…**" The voice proclaimed.

Shortly thereafter a flash of light erupted and the magical seal vanished, after which the flute was no longer present, but in its place was definitely something more terrifying. A large wooden monstrous-looking creature with three eyes that shined with purple light, two arms, and a pair of legs now made itself evident. The creature also possessed small cutouts made themselves present all throughout the body.

"**I shall feast upon your souls!**" Lullaby exclaimed.

"It's so huge!" Lucy shouted in terror.

"Waita state the obvious." Happy said nervously.

"What is that thing?! Erigor never said anything about a monster!" Kage said as he gazed upon the demonic creature before them.

"We're in a pickle." Bob thought aloud.

"It must be a demon from the Book of Zeref." Goldmine reasoned.

"Why did the flute turn into a monster?!" Lucy questioned.

"That's its true form. It's forbidden black magic called living magic, Zeref's specialty." Goldmine explained.

"Who's Zeref, wasn't he some wizard that died a long time ago?" Gray thought aloud.

"He's the most evil wizard that ever lived. He was very powerful in his day, but in my wildest dreams I never thought his dark legacy would pop back up again." Bob replied.

"**Now then… which of your delectable souls shall I devour first?**" Lullaby wondered aloud.

"Do you think souls are tasty?" Natsu asked, turning to the raven-haired ice mage for an answer.

"How should I know?" Gray shot back.

"My guess is no, and for the record you're not eating anyone's soul today." Ichigo stated, glaring confrontationally at the large demonic being as he spoke.

"**Hahahaha, oh? Perhaps you shall be the first I devour.**" Lullaby mused.

"Not happening… Kage, give me the damn badge already." Ichigo requested.

The dark wizard gasped slightly given that he had previously been petrified with fear, but an instant later he reached into his pocket and tossed the wooden object towards its owner.

Upon grabbing it, the substitute ejected from his body, allowing Lucy to catch it given that she figured fighting a giant monster in his place would be less than preferable.

'_What kind of magic is that?_" Bob and Goldmine wondered simultaneously.

"**My, my, you are an interesting one. Your soul is brimming with power… oh yes, I shall most certainly devour you first.**" Lullaby stated, practically gushing at the spiritual energy that the orange-haired teen currently outputted.

"Natsu, Gray, Erza, we should take this thing down quickly before it destroys too much." Ichigo said.

"Hold on, I am the team's leader and as such I will give the orders." Erza stated firmly.

"Knock yourself out…" Ichigo replied, knowing full well that arguing at a time like this was pointless.

"Natsu, Gray, Ichigo, give this this everything you've got!" Erza shouted.

Each of whom she had addressed firmly nodded and an instant later the four ran off in unison, leaping upwardly towards the massive creature without a moment's hesitation. Ichigo unsheathed his sword, Natsu brought his fire to cover his fists, Erza prepared to dawn her armor, and Gray prepared to shoot the creature full of ice.

"Requip!" Erza exclaimed.

She opted to summon her Heaven's Wheel Armor as she continued to near the creature, after which she began slashing directly through the midsection of the massive creature and effectively giving a convenient opening to her comrades as it tried to collect itself.

"Ice Make Lance!" Gray exclaimed from the ground, firing off a slew of ice lances directly at the body of the massive demon. It wailed in pain as the attack pierced its skin, even recoiling slightly due to the fact that the magical ice had hit it's from its side.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu shouted, slamming his fist into the demon's neck and subsequently punching a hole through it.

"**Insolent fools!**" Lullaby exclaimed, making to swat the dragon slayer.

Its aim was offset a moment later courtesy of the two swordsmen that had started to chop and slash at random parts of its body, flying around or leaping and attacking it without relent.

"**Enough of this!**" Lullaby shouted, stomping its foot on the ground so as to create enough of a shockwave to rid itself of its attackers for a brief moment.

Ichigo was forced to use flash step to appear on the ground, Natsu was forced to jump off the demon's body, and Erza was forced to fly backwards lest they each be hit by the force of the defensive move. However, it was beyond the shadow of a doubt that they currently had the upper hand.

The demon currently had holes covering its body, and despite its size the wounds were noticeable. What's more was the fact that the wounds inflicted by the orange-haired teen specifically burned, even after the impact. It was as if it cut into the very fabric of its magic, which should have been impossible.

"**That blade of yours… who are you, child? What magic do you use that allows your sword to burn my skin at the touch?**" Lullaby asked.

"My name's Ichigo Kurosaki, and I don't have time to explain something like that to a demon that's about to meet its end." Ichigo replied.

"**HA! It is not I, but you who will meet his end here today! Behold my melody of death!**" Lullaby exclaimed.

It took a large breath of fresh air, after which it gathered magical energy within its throat and prepared to release. If the song was capable of getting gout, then no one was safe. Not the guild masters and not the Fairy Tail guild members.

When it finally did preform the spell, however, nothing happened. Just a quiet little squeak sounded off from within its throat, which clearly surprised the large demon a great deal.

"What happened?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"**I don't understand, why can't I play my melody of death?!**" Lullaby shouted confusedly.

"They must've poked so many holes in it with their attacks that it can't make play its music." Kage reasoned.

"Talk about anticlimactic." Lucy commented.

"Flutes are pretty lame to being with." Happy added.

"**You dare to mock me?!**" Lullaby roared.

A moment later it shot a powerful energy projectile directly at the group that still sat atop the hillside. They, in turn, began to panic as the energy came closer and closer to hitting its target.

"Lucy!" Erza, Natsu, and Gray exclaimed in unison.

Not one to allow his comrades to be injured if he could help it, Ichigo appeared directly in front of the energy projectile and stopped its path with his zanpakuto. At first the attack managed to push him back, causing his feet to skid across the rocky terrain and displace a good bit of the ground. Nevertheless it seemed he was capable of blocking something so powerful with just his basic sword.

'_To be able to block such an attack…_' Erza thought, knowing full well that there were only a select few of her armors that could accomplish such a thing.

A moment later the attack was proven not only to have been blocked, but outright deflected. Once he had regained his footing, Ichigo slashed his zanpakuto forward with as much force as he could, effectively dispelling Lullaby's attack and rendering a large majority of those present speechless at the very sight.

"**Impossible! No one should be able to block my attack!**" Lullaby shouted defiantly.

"You know what… I've had just about enough of hearing your voice. I think it's time to shut you up once and for all." Ichigo stated.

The large demonic creature made to reply, but its voice caught in its throat at the feel of what happened next. Ichigo extended his sword horizontally forward, supporting his right arm with his left and gathering a large amount of spiritual energy.

His power surged into the sky and around his body, taking the form of a raging blue pillar of raw energy that shot up as far as the eye could see. Most began sweat slightly at the feel of what each had never felt before in their existence. So much energy and yet it didn't feel like magic, not at this concentration at least.

'_What kind of power is this?_' Erza wondered, watching as the energy continued to build up.

"Getsuga…" Ichigo began, bringing his sword back.

Lullaby watched as the sword was cocked back, but the raw power that it sensed seemed to paralyze it. For some reason it simply couldn't move. However, even if it could, it likely wouldn't have been able to dodge the attack given how massive it soon showed itself to be.

"…Tenshou!" Ichigo shouted.

A colossal burst of blue energy poured forth from the blade as it was swung forwards, consuming absolutely everything in its path. The winds burst in all directions at high speeds, and even the guild masters themselves could only look at the attack with a sense of awe.

The light blue glow of the attack completely eclipsed the form of Lullaby, and all that could be heard were its screams of torment before all of a sudden it just stopped making sound altogether. When the energy had dissipated, the giant monster was completely gone. The only thing that remained was the flute from whence it came.

However, as that very same flute began to fall towards the ground, it began to turn into dust, slowly evaporating until absolutely nothing remained. For a moment no one said a thing, all they could do was stare at where the massive creature previously stood, and where the attack courtesy of the orange-haired teen has just recently eclipsed.

'_His attack destroyed the flute?! But that shouldn't have happened… no magic in the world has the power to undo Zeref's curse… but perhaps that isn't it._' Makarov thought, knowing full well that Ichigo wasn't even capable of using what they would call magic.

"There, now we're done." Ichigo stated in a tired tone, allowing Zangetsu to rest on his back once more within the cloth that traditionally covered the blade.

"Wow that was a hell of an attack!" Natsu exclaimed, marveling at the destructiveness of the substitute's technique.

"Indeed. That was… impressive, to say the least." Erza commented, her voice still holding a touch of awe.

"I'll say." Lucy commented.

"Aye." Happy said, nodding in agreement.

"That attack was really something else, Ichigo. However the destructive capabilities are the second most surprising thing about it, what I really didn't expect was for it to destroy Lullaby completely." Makarov stated.

"Well it's a good thing it did, that flute was way too dangerous to be left alone." Ichigo said, his words ringing all too true.

'_The kid's got a point… but up until now no one had been able to destroy the damn thing, that's why it was sealed away._' Goldmine thought, giving off a neutral expression despite his rather active mind.

"Still I can see why you wouldn't want to use that every chance you got. If you did it back at the station to destroy the wind barrier you'd probably have blown away the building too." Gray stated.

"Yeah, and that's exactly why I didn't use it back there. I'm just glad when I finally did use that attack I didn't end up blowing up anything important." Ichigo replied, inwardly smirking since he thought he had succeeded in doing so.

"You mean like the Guild Master's Conference Hall?" Lucy asked blankly.

"Yeah, like…" Ichigo began, only to turn around and look at the very structure that the blonde-haired celestial mage had been referring to.

When he did so, however, his previously content expression was replaced with one of disbelief. It had seemed that due to the massive size of the demon that he had just recently destroyed, he failed to see the conference hall was directly behind it when he had launched his attack. The end result was that the structure was now nothing more than a crater, having been completely decimated.

"Whoa, you completely tore it apart!" Natsu stated excitedly.

"Guess you really are a Fairy Tail wizard at heart." Gray mused with a chuckle.

Erza said nothing, and while she didn't really approve of destroying large amounts of property, that indeed was one of the qualities a Fairy Tail wizard unfortunately always had to have, and she couldn't have done a better job destroying the conference hall herself. Of course she'd never say that out loud, but it's the thought that counted.

"Uhh… uhhhhh…" Makarov groaned out, paling at the sight of the destroyed building.

"Dammit…" Ichigo muttered under his breath. He was so close to having completed a job without blowing something up, and with the company he currently kept that was most certainly an achievement. It was actually ironic given that he was likely the only one who had intended to finish the mission without too much damage being done to property.

The substitute's mental self-loathing was cut short when Natsu walked up behind him and patted him on his shoulder. This caused Ichigo to turn and face the pink-haired teen and gaze upon his cheerful grin, which did confuse him but at least it meant the dragon slayer was making an attempt to make him feel less horrible.

"Cheer up, I blow stuff up all the time. It's no big deal!" Natsu stated, causing the orange-haired teen to sight.

"That doesn't make me feel all that better…" Ichigo replied.

**A/N Since this chapter was pretty long, I **_**should**_** probably say the next one will be posted next Monday… but I'm not gonna ;), so the next chapter will be posted on Friday since I think I'll be able to get it done by then. **

_**Explanations**_:

**Erigor vs. Ichigo and Natsu**: I wanted to make this fight kind-of a teamwork thing on the part of Natsu and Ichigo, which is also why I chose not to have Ichigo chop Erigor in half. That's really the only reason.

**Why Did I have the Badge Taken?**: This one is a pretty easy answer, and I simply did it because if I hadn't then the Lullaby would have been taken somewhere else. I highly doubt that they would've taken the flute to Makarov had Kage not gone to Clover, and I wanted to have pretty much everyone see Ichigo defeat the demon, so it worked out nicely this way.

**Ichigo Destroying Lullaby**: This wasn't because spiritual energy is stronger than magic energy, it's mostly because the powers of a Soul Reaper purify things and have the power to destroy things like demons, which are moderately similar to hollows. It goes along with the theme of death magic not effecting him.

**What's Next?**: The next chapter will be a bit of prelude to a certain trial… among other things. Oh, also expect the folks at the Magic Council to want to speak to Ichigo after everything that's happened ;P

_**Reviews**_:

**Guest(1)**: I hope it didn't disappoint.

**TheConsumingDarkness**: With both hands, idk what would happen, I just know it'd be stronger than if he had used one hand xD. As far as Ichigo vs. Erza in a spar, the beginnings of that will start developing as of next chapter.

**Exanime Draco**: Um, when I said 'installments', I believe the context was in a review two chapters ago courtesy of you. By that I meant parts of this trilogy because, as I think I have said before, this story holds the potential to a part of one and I do intend to make three, which will just be continuations of one another. Also, the person I had been referring to was NOT Kianana, though that would have been really creative.

**Monkeybut98**: I would if it were close-ish, but it isn't so I won't bother ruining it.

**Wardrags**: I am more than happy to write and I hope you enjoy this story as well, and as for your question, no, Ichigo will not be learning Kido, mostly because there's no one to teach him though I initially did want to find a way to make that work. Also, Hado 90 is also my personal favorite and, yes, it is very badass.

**Guest(2)**: I won't say who it is, but I will at least tell you that it isn't him…

**Hotstreak's Crossover stories**: Yup, Ichigo will eventually face off against Laxus, and also there is the _potential_ to add on an additional third if backed by popular demand, and there will be multiple candidates for that spot so eventually the readers will get the say, but I get to choose who it will be just because I want to work with something I feel I can write really well.

**sage of the sexy**: He does, but even so I will neither confirm nor deny that. This isn't to say you're not right or that you may be right I just won't actually say who it is period.

**christian. 1**: I initially had it planned out to be a bit longer, but since the next chapter wound up being 12k words I decided to cut it off there. Also, he does have the post-fullbring Soul Reaper look, which I described/also assumed the reader was aware of given that the story started right after he regained his powers. I think you may be confused because I repeatedly say that Zangetsu is sheathed in cloth, but even after the fullbring arc it still is, the cloth just vanishes whenever he uses the blade.

**Zaralann**: He left it in the room, but since they were all beaten up it didn't really matter. He has it with him, I just really didn't feel like over-complicating my writing by adding in the little bit of transition as to where his body was located xD. Theoretically, he could store his body in a magical space or his own soul really, so he is technically capable of Re-Quip, I would say. What do you mean by summon Zangetsu? I'm a bit confused about that one…

**SpartanPrime101**: I've said this before, but a singular Bleach character other than Ichigo will make an appearance in the main plot line of this story for a brief period of time, but that is a long ways away and I will not say who it is. For the most part, he is alone.

**lightskiller**: Pairing will not be revealed until I deem it too obvious to hide anymore xD.

**Vakom Sunrunner**: First, I am sorry but I can't say anything regarding those two since I have to keep some of the mystery about that character alive. That isn't to say you're on the right track or that you aren't, but since those two are some of the most likely candidates you can understand why I wouldn't want to say anything. The hollow isn't someone I count as a character since he is a part of Ichigo, so it won't be him even though he does show up, relatively soon if I am not mistaken. Is Erza on the list of Ichigo's potential love interests… maybe ;P.

**cellum95**: He will, but not for a while.

**Lord Dream**: I wouldn't say as he is now he's up there with Yamamoto, but he is stronger than most every captain. I would say Unohana as well as Kyoraku outclass him as a fighter by a decent amount, though I agree Ichigo post finding out his mother is a Quincy is ungodly powerful.

**lancepm**: To answer most of your questions, there will only be a single other Bleach character in this story other than Ichigo who is involved with the main plot, that person will not show up for a long time so I am keeping it a bit of a secret, and Ichigo won't have an Edolas counterpart.

**TooLazyToLogin**: I just realized I did that… eventually I will correct that, rest assured, and I will do my best to make sure I don't do that again xD. Also, thank you for your kind words and I hope I can make this story go above and beyond your expectations!

**Fenrir of the North**: The reason I didn't have him do that was because I wanted to have an opportunity to smoothly introduce to Ichigo Erza's type of magic and also make this arc a bit more lengthy. If I were to end it just like that, then the Lullaby issue isn't really an issue and it wouldn't set up for future chapters as well. Trust me when I say I think ahead, so everything that happens in this story will happen for a reason.

**ultima-owner**: Tower of Heaven Arc, most likely.

**NateTheGradnMaster45**: There is a potential to add in a third if backed by popular demand, so I will be creating potential windows depending on who I feel would work best. Four is pretty much the absolute max I am willing to go up to at any point in any story, for the most part.

**OddEvan**: Won't say, mostly because I really, really will just be keeping it a secret.

**Debz**: It will be IchigoxTwoFemales, each of whom I am keeping a secret up until the point that I feel it is too obvious.

**GirlFish**: About the hollow form, you'll have to wait and see ;P

**ben 10.000**: He won't find out in this story so I won't answer your questions for that reason. It isn't that I can't, but realistically there'd be no point and I very well may alter my decisions in the future, so… yeah. Also, I never said he _wouldn't_ use Quincy powers in the Quincy arc, I just said at one point that Ichigo hadn't ever used them or known about them prior.


	12. Welcome Back

**A/N Happy Friday everyone and as promised here's the next chapter! Also, next one will be posted Monday.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 12 **

_**Era: Meeting Chambers of the Magic Council**_

The members of the Magic Council stood in conference, each with a pensive expression on their respective face and their thoughts rather conflicted. In traditional fashion the topic of discussion was the guild that brought out these exact feelings nearly every time it was brought up, otherwise known as Fairy Tail.

Time and time again the council had debated on whether or not they were a problem, or if they were too unruly, or if they were simply a guild of party animals whose energy could be steered towards positive ends. In any case, they were a frequent topic of discussion.

Currently, they were discussed in unison with the defeat of the dark guild Eisenwald. In truth the council owed Fairy Tail a great deal for saving the guild masters and simultaneously taking down a group of criminal wizards. Moreover, a dark and terrible demon that had hence forth not been killable was actually erased from the face of the earth, which could only be seen as a positive if they were to just look at that individual consequence of the unruly guild's actions.

At the same time, they couldn't just let them off the hook just because their actions benefited them because that would cause them to lose respect and appear as if any guild could do whatever they wanted whenever it suited them. That would just be chaos, and they couldn't very well allow that to happen. With these being the two conjoining truths of the situation, the evident dilemma of what to do presented itself.

"The dark guild Eisewald may have been defeated, but that is only one small victory in a much larger battle." Org stated.

The man was a tall and elderly in nature, having gray hair and a considerably long beard with a coupled moustache. He had pointy ears, and wore multiple layers of white robes, which appeared to be the traditional fashion of the council members.

"The number of dark guilds has been growing at quite an alarming rate." Michello added.

The man who had just spoken was a short old man with very flat brown hair that pointed outwardly in three different directions. Either side of his head also sported what appeared to be a pair of cat-like ears that appeared to be nothing more than spiked-up hair and a light-yellow tail seemed to grow out of his backside. He had a bristle-edged moustache and overall gave off the appearance of a cat by several measures of the word.

"We have to come up with a plan to eliminate them all." Leji piped in.

He was a fairly tall middle-aged man with large lips, tan skin, black hair coupled with huge sideburns, and bits of hair covering his chin. He sported a pair of small, round, shaded glassed and also wore a cloak typical of a magic council member, only he chose to wear the hood up as opposed to the others' choice.

"But how would we do that?" Belno questioned.

The female council member was a tall elderly woman with sandy-blonde hair tied in a large pony-tail style. She too wore a robe like the other council members but underneath she sported a purple turtle-neck, being the only one on the council who actually did so.

"This situation does present us with a clear dilemma, but at the same time at least one part of Zeref's magic has been destroyed." Org replied.

"Even so we must also consider how Eisenwald managed to get their hands on such a powerful form of dark magic in the first place." Yajima reasoned.

He was a short elderly man with thick light-brown eyebrows, and a small toothbrush moustache. Incidentally he was one of the only members without a robe, choosing to wear a brown long sleeved shirt with a very odd black three-spiked hat.

"I hate to say it, but the blame may extend all the way to the highest levels." Michello stated.

"Whatever the case, although they're usually just a thorn in our sides, Fairy Tail proved to be quite useful." Seigrain commented.

The male member of the magic council had slightly long blue hair, brown eyes, and an intricately designed red tattoo that was located above and under his right eye. He wore a long white tunic with black stripes across the edges overtop a dark shirt and matching pants and shoes. His disposition, however, was rather arrogant or at the very least a more smugly oriented sense of calmness.

"They took down and entire guild with just a handful of wizards. That is quite a feat." Ultear added, bringing a sleeve to cover her mouth as she spoke.

The woman who spoke had slightly pale skin, red lipstick lightly coating her lips, dark-purple hair, and brown eyes. She had a noticeably voluptuous figure and currently wore a variation of the council's uniform consisting of a rather bland white garb that covered her upper and lower body, a dark-yellow sash that tied around her waist, a red collar-like object around her neck, as well as the left arm being long sleeved and the right having no sleeve whatsoever. She appeared to be rather playful in nature, but simultaneously had the capability of being serious when the time called for it.

"You may not want to accept it but that's the reality of the situation. In the end the attack on the guild masters was prevented, lives were spared, and none of us had to give up our hard earned positions on this council to save face." Seigrain stated.

"You fool, are you insinuating the council is somehow to blame?!" Leji exclaimed.

"That's enough! We must get back to the topic at hand." Org stated.

"Speaking of which, it should specifically be taken into consideration that the forbidden Lullaby was successfully destroyed, something we have been incapable of doing thus far." Seigrain said.

"That fact only makes the situation more complicated than it already is. There was a reason that we were unable to destroy it and even now we don't know how this was possible. Moreover the wizard that is said to have destroyed it is someone we do not have any previous records of." Org countered.

"Yes, and we can't overlook the fact that someone capable of such power should not have been able to go under the radar of the Magic Council for so long, it doesn't make any sense." Belno added.

"We do have records of him being present during the events that lead to the capture of Bora of Prominence. He apparently fought off the man alongside Natsu Dragneel." Ultear stated.

"So this man appeared out of thin air and is capable of doing the impossible with his magic? I find that extremely troubling…" Org replied.

"All the more reason to bring him to us and inquire about his history, wouldn't you say?" Seigrain reasoned.

"What would you have us do?" Org asked.

"We require a scapegoat from Fairy Tail, someone who is well known, and we also require an audience with this mysterious wizard that has done what we all thought to be impossible. However, simply bringing him along as the scapegoat won't be enough, therefore I suggest we pick an iconic Fairy Tail wizard and play it off as having both of them being punished." Seigrain suggested, smirking as that idea seemed to sit very well with the other members of the council.

"Interesting, so you are suggesting that we bring this man alongside another and use that as an excuse to question him… that would work out rather well for us, and seeing as how it allows us to hit two birds with one stone I do not see any reason to deny your plan's viability." Org replied.

"Still, who would you suggest we bring in alongside this mysterious Fairy Tail mage?" Michello inquired, prompting the blue-haired man to smirk amusedly.

"Oh, I know just the person…" Seigrain began.

_**Magnolia: Fairy Tail Guildhall **_

The doors to the large wooden building opened rather suddenly, drawing the attention of each of the members that currently sat within it, be they looking for work or simply passing the time with friends.

Among the group was the master, Erza, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Happy, and Ichigo, each of whom were deathly quiet. Natsu and Gray simply glared at one another while the blonde-haired celestial mage just stared at them with a deadpanned expression with Happy sitting atop her shoulder. Their respective looks gave away nothing, but the remaining three seemed to give off the impression something bad had happened.

Master Makarov looked rather annoyed, more specifically it was the look he gave off whenever he received a rather extensive damage report. Erza appeared to be feeling rather guilty, almost as if she blamed herself in some manner for what had happened, and Ichigo just gave off a somewhat defeated look.

"Hello Mater Makarov, you're back earlier than expected." Mirajane greeted cheerfully.

"Yes… I am, aren't I?" Makarov replied, directing a glare at the orange-haired teen to his right.

'_I'm missing something here…_' Mira thought, looking at both the master and the substitute confusedly.

"I said I was sorry…" Ichigo trailed off, not even bothering to look back at the elderly mage to see the look on his face.

The entire trip back to Magnolia, Makarov had been giving him the same look whenever the topic of what had happened was brought up. That, incidentally, happened numerous occasions on the train ride given that Natsu would continuously bug him about how strong the attack was, which also occurred more than was necessary because said dragon slayer would keep forgetting the explanation that was given to him. Needless to say the look of annoyance was deeply imprinted into his memory for the time being.

"I know you did, but that doesn't mean I can't still make you feel guilty about it." Makarov pointed out, his expression unchanging.

Ichigo just sighed tiredly as if to say he knew on some level he deserved it. At the same time it hadn't been his intention to destroy the conference hall, but that still didn't change the fact he blew it into smithereens.

"You know, this is kinda funny when it isn't happening to me." Natsu commented, releasing a slight chuckle.

"And I'm so glad you can find this entertaining." Ichigo commented sarcastically.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

"Master, once again I will say that the responsibility for what happened lies with me. I was the head of the mission hence it is my duty to bear the burden of anything going awry." Erza stated.

"And let Ichigo off the hook so easily? Fat chance…" Makarov replied. He released a slight chuckle upon hearing an annoyed groan from his right, though whatever fun he might have had was interrupted by a rather confused barmaid.

"Some context would be nice…" Mira said.

"Oh, well you see these five decided to take on a dark guild that was trying to kill off everyone at the Guild Master's Conference by using a form of death magic created by the black wizard Zeref. They did win, but I'd like it if Ichigo would kindly finish the story for me." Makarov requested.

"Fine… anyway, some kind of demon called Lullaby appeared and tried to finish the job that Eisenwald couldn't. Now, in my defense, it was really huge…" Ichigo began.

"I can attest to that. It was relatively the size of a small mountain." Erza commented.

"Yeah… so when I went to beat it I couldn't see thee conference hall behind it, and I…" Ichigo said, only to be cut off.

"You blew up the conference hall, didn't you?" Cana guessed, releasing a slight chuckle upon receiving a nod of confirmation from the orange-haired teen.

"Wait, so you destroyed a demon that big with one attack?" Mira asked, sounding awestruck. It wasn't every day that she heard news of something like that happening, and it also gave away a good bit about how strong their latest member's abilities were.

"Yeah, it was frickin' awesome!" Natsu shouted excitedly.

"For once I agree." Gray piped in.

"Aye!" Happy said.

"It was pretty impressive…" Lucy commented.

"Indeed." Erza said, honesty prevalent in her tone.

"Wow, must've been a hell of an attack." Cana reasoned from her position at the bar.

The rest of the guild seemed to nod or mutter in agreement on that, but the fact remained that the master himself wasn't quite so taken aback by the attack that it made him lose track of what was really important.

"You're all missing the point!" Makarov exclaimed, a tick mark popping gout on his forehead.

"And that was…" Ichigo trailed off as if requesting for the master to clarify.

"That my mini-vacation was ruined…" Makarov replied in a saddened tone. Shortly thereafter he began to cry streams of faux-tears, wailing all the while.

'_He definitely isn't going to let this go._' Ichigo thought, releasing an inward groan.

"The master will be fine, Ichigo. For now I would just advise you just avoid bringing up recent events." Erza stated.

"Alright…" Ichigo replied.

It made sense to just give the old man some space since he obviously wasn't going to just drop what had happened. At the very least the fact that he didn't seem truly mad was a good sign, but, even so, time would be needed before this blew over. With those thoughts in mind, the orange-haired teen walked over to the main bar, and slammed his head onto the wooden surface just wishing for a brief moment that the master's wailing wouldn't be able to reach his ears.

'_Nope, didn't work._' Ichigo thought. His inward self-loathing was then cut off upon hearing the characteristic giggle of the bubbly white-haired barmaid that worked at the guild. He pulled his head up a moment later, taking note that yet another person seemed to get some sense of humor out of his stupidity. In some way that was a silver lining.

"Rough day?" Mira asked in a friendly manner.

"It wasn't too bad all in all… I guess I just need to work on my aim a little bit." Ichigo replied, chuckling slightly.

"Well, you can't have everything going exactly as planned. How you got here in the first place would be a good example of that, I guess." Mira said.

"Yeah, you're right about that. To be honest though, I'm just happy to be back. That road trip was annoying, way too much train travel for my tastes." Ichigo thought aloud.

"I get what you mean. One of the good things about working in the guild hall itself is that I don't have to travel too far." Mira replied, smiling as she always did.

The conversation the two were currently engaging in was cut off for a brief period of time by a collective bout of giggling that sounded off from a nearby table. Hearing this, Ichigo turned and saw a group of five women staring almost directly at him, still continuing with their girlish laughter all the while despite the fact that he was currently looking at them.

It took a few seconds, but eventually they noticed that he was looking directly at them, and with that one of the female wizards 'shushed' the rest and they took their eyes off of him. However, simply because their laughter had stopped didn't mean that Ichigo's confusion had. It still remained to be seen why on earth they were staring at him in the first place.

"That was… weird." Ichigo thought aloud, sounding confused.

"Yes, it really was." Mira commented, a blank expression on her face as she continued to wash cups.

In all honesty she had thought, for a moment, that the girls were staring at her, but it was very clearly the man that kept her company. That in mind, she was still just as lost as he was.

"What was that about?" Ichigo asked, turning around once again to look at the white-haired woman.

"I don't really know." Mira replied honestly.

"You really don't know? Well then, I might be able to help you out a bit…" Cana mused as she walked up to the bar, a smirk etched on her face.

"Um… did something happen?" Ichigo asked confusedly.

"Why don't you_ see_ for yourself?" Cana replied, releasing a chuckle as she spoke.

The brown-haired woman's words confused the two individuals that had heard her, mostly because they were very ambiguous and not all too helpful. Ichigo raised a curious brow, preparing to ask what she had meant, but he stopped himself upon the woman presenting him with a magazine and placing it directly in front of him on the wooden surface of the bar.

"Sorcerer's Weekly?" Ichigo wondered aloud, looking back at the booze enthusiast upon taking the magazine into his own hands.

"It just came out this morning. Go to page seven and trust me when I say you'll understand." Cana stated.

Immediately thereafter the substitute turned to the page that the renowned drinker had asked him to, and no sooner than he did that did his face light up in a brilliant shade of red.

"Dammit…" Ichigo sighed out, burying his face into his hands and dropping the magazine as he did so.

"What could be so bad?" Mirajane wondered aloud.

The white-haired woman took the magazine and turned to the page in question, after which she instantly understood why Ichigo had reacted the way he did. The entirety of the page was a large image of the very same group photo that the both of them had been a part of. Naturally this would be embarrassing for him, most likely because he didn't want to take it in the first place, but even so he had to know this would happen eventually. After all, he did take a wonderful photo.

However, two things were amiss about the picture that Mira immediately took note of. Firstly, the blush on Ichigo's face had been toned down a good amount. You could still make out a little bit of it on the photo, but it made him look more innocent and charming which was likely why they kept it that way.

The second thing she noticed, and the more glaring of the two, caused the barmaid to blush herself. While taking the photo she had thought herself to be nowhere near as close as she did in the final print. Her chest was pressing up against the substitute's shoulder blade, something that did happen but she perceived it as only a slight touch.

"Oh my…" Mira muttered, bringing a hand up to cover one of her cheek so as to prevent a certain brown-haired woman from seeing her heated face.

"By the way, _nice_ abs Ichigo…" Cana abruptly commented, a wicked smirk present on her features as she did so.

"I… um… I…" Ichigo mumbled, trying and failing to find an excuse for why the photo was taken in the first place. Realistically there was no way he could convey the story that made him look good.

"You should do these photo shoots more often." Cana said, winking at the teen and effectively causing his blush to deepen.

"I-It was a onetime thing! Plus I was asked to by all of the models so I really couldn't say no." Ichigo replied defensively.

"Really… all of them you say?" Cana wondered aloud, redirecting her devilish smirk towards the barmaid.

The white-haired woman knew perfectly well where this conversation was heading, and she really didn't like it one bit. In fact, she gave a slight glare at the talented binge drinker as if to warn her that this was the case.

"Now I wonder why Mirajane would do something like that." Cana said playfully.

"Cana…" Mirajane muttered warningly.

"Oh, is that the latest issue of Sorcerer's Magazine?" Lucy asked, walking over to the bar and joining the others.

"Yes, it is. Help yourself, though I advise you look at page seven first." Cana said, taking her eyes off of the barmaid and redirecting them towards the incoming blonde.

Upon hearing this, Mira released an inward sigh of relief. The last thing she needed was to be teased relentlessly by Cana since her threats could only go so far to quell the woman's urge to mess with people. It did seem a bit unfortunate that it occurred due to the fact that Ichigo was such an easy target, but even so.

"Oh wow, nice abs!" Lucy exclaimed upon seeing the picture.

"That's what I said!" Cana stated.

Once again the group of females that were likely close enough to hear the conversation began to giggle, only this time in a more perverse manner. This, in turn, caused Ichigo to release a groan and once again 'gently' place his head against the wooden surface of the bar.

"What is it that you are all looking at?" Erza asked curiously as she came up to the group.

The substitute heard the distinct sound of the magazine being taken into the redhead's metal-covered hands, at which point he brought his head up once more and fully expected to be hit or something for how unseemly the photo was. Somewhat to his surprise, the strongest of Fairy Tail's female wizards just blushed before placing the magazine on the bar once more.

"I-I would have never expected such things from you, Ichigo." Erza said, her expression being one of clear surprise.

"It wasn't my idea in the first place!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" Natsu asked as he too came up towards the group.

The pink-haired teen instantly took the magazine off the bar, took it in his hand, and looked directly at the page that Erza had so kindly laid flat against the surface. He then turned to look at Ichigo and released a slight chuckle.

"So this is how you got the extra 50,000 Jewel." Natsu reasoned.

"That's all you got? Whoever paid you got a huge deal off of that one." Cana stated before taking the magazine back in her hands and looking at the picture once again.

"W-what?" Ichigo stuttered, his blush coming back once again.

"Oh don't play dumb. Female wizards read this stuff just as much as the male ones do, and sometimes for the exact same… visual pleasures." Cana finished, making sure she over exaggerated the degree to which she was looking at the photo.

'_Why me?!_' Ichigo thought, releasing an outward sigh. Thus far he currently had a reputation as someone who blew up a building and managed to annoy the master, the last thing he thought he needed was something like this.

"Ehem… I um… I highly doubt that the picture will end up being all that popular." Mira said in an attempt to comfort the orange-haired teen. She did feel somewhat guilty since, after all, it was partially her fault he took the picture.

Her words, however, caused Cana to look at her with an expression of disbelief, after which she turned the magazine around and set the picture directly in the barmaid's line of sight.

"It could be worse…" Mira continued, though she sounded far more unsure than prior. The brown-haired wizard simply moved the picture closer to the point that it was directly in front of her face as a result.

"Is it too late to say sorry?" Mira asked jokingly.

"It's… it's not such a huge deal. It'll roll over eventually." Ichigo replied, though in truth he was not entirely sure of that.

"Oh, is that the latest issue of Sorcerer's Magazine?" Makarov asked as he came over.

Ichigo wanted to sigh, but at this point he just didn't care. As a result, he said not a word as the collection of photos and articles was handed down to the shortly-built wizard. In fact, the very same page that had thus far caught everyone's attention was still opened wide.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Makarov roared, almost buckling over at the sight of the picture.

"What's so damn funny?" Ichigo asked, blushing slightly since he was very clearly being mocked.

"You know, I just never pictured you as a model, Ichigo, what with you seeming like a prude and all." Makarov thought aloud, wiping away a tear from his eye.

"I am not a prude!" Ichigo shouted defensively.

"Clearly not… BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Makarov laughed out.

"That's… you just… how can… whatever." Ichigo said, just accepting the fact that he couldn't really defend himself in this instance.

"Cheer up my boy! I've got something to say that might brighten up your mood a little bit." Makarov stated, ceasing his boisterous laughter.

The words of the elderly wizard somewhat confused those who had heard him, but none of them bothered to say anything given that a moment later the master jumped atop the bar and made to address the entire guild.

"Listen up everyone! I've got somethin' to say about what happened over at the conference I went to. Now I'm not all too happy about the damages, but I'll tell you one thing, the job got done! A demon from the book of Zeref was taken down by Fairy Tail wizards, some of the strongest Fairy Tail wizards we have, and on top of that we took on a dark guild and tore them to shreds. If that ain't worth celebrating I don't know what is, so let's make up for my lost vacation time!" Makarov stated.

The entire guild erupted into cheers a moment later, shortly after which everyone lunged at one another. Normally someone would have done something about it, but perhaps a celebration of some kind was in order.

"Well, I can't say I didn't see that coming." Ichigo thought aloud, starting into the virtual dust cloud of smoke with fists and feet swinging all around and within it.

"They're just letting loose, my boy. Do me a favor and let them enjoy the day, and yes I'm lookin' at you Erza." Makarov said as he jumped down from his position at the bar.

"I will do no such thing unless things get out of hand." Erza replied, though she did sound slightly disappointed that she wasn't currently allowed to do anything. It was just nice to always have the option.

The redhead just sat down on a nearby barstool, obviously not wanting any part to do with the fight. She appeared to be very calm, which was really saying something given that it was exceedingly noisy in the guild at the moment. Mira continued to go on as she always did, and Cana simply walked off towards a table away from the fight with a mug in her hand and a small smile etched on her face.

"Speaking of fights, why aren't you diving into this one?" Ichigo asked, turning to face the pink-haired teen to his left.

"Hehehe, well normally I would, but I wanted to introduce you to a few people that I don't think you've had the chance to meet yet." Natsu replied, his characteristic grin present on his features.

"Really? Who'd you have in mind?" Ichigo asked.

The pink-haired dragon slayer just gestured Ichigo to follow him with his hand as opposed to giving a verbal response, after which the two began to walk across the guild to a nearby table.

At said table sat four individuals that he had seen before around the guild but had never really spoken to. They all seemed rather cheerful if their respective friendly smiles were anything to go by, which at least implied they were approachable.

Among the group were a total of three men and a single girl who looked to be at maximum seventeen years of age, and that was being generous. Three sat on one side of the table while a lone male sat on the other, appearing as if they had been conversing before he and Natsu had decided to come up to them.

One of the wizards was a slim young-looking man with orange hair though most of it was hidden under a tall brown and white striped hat with alternating colors. The teen wore an open light-brown coat that had yellowish fur trimmings overtop a collared purple shirt with its collar mostly left hanging open. His lower body was covered in nothing more than a standard looking pair of shoes and black pants.

The man that sat nearest to him was a tall, slim young man with black hair styled in a very distinctive manner. He wore a simple white t-shirt with checkered green pants and a pair of dark shoes with soles that appeared to be on the lighter side.

The one and only female, incidentally, sat between these two and appeared to be the most friendly, if not the most approachable, of the group. This particular wizard was a young, petite girl with a slender build and shoulder-length blue hair that was held up by a colorful bandana. She wore an orange dress with a bow tied over her shoulders and makings its appearance between her breasts.

Last among the group was the man that sat across from them. He was a rather large muscular individual with tan-colored skin and spikey white hair that was styled upwards. The man wore what seemed like something akin to a school uniform by the standards of the substitute's world, its appearance being a simple dark-blue jacket with purple innards complete with a pair of matching pants.

"I was wondering when we'd finally get to meet the man from another world." The tall-hatted individual thought aloud.

"Be nice." The only female gently chided.

"Yeah, sorry about that, but I haven't really gotten a chance to meet everyone just yet. My name's Ichigo Kurosaki, it's nice to meet the four of you." Ichigo began.

"My name's Jet, and my buddy here is Droy. We're two-thirds of one of Fairy Tail's best teams." The orange-haired wizard stated.

"I'd be the last part of that team. My name is Levy McGarden, and I and my two friends over here make up Shadow Gear." The blue-haired girl said in a friendly manner.

"Shadow Gear? Is that the name of your team?" Ichigo guessed, eliciting a nod from the petite young mage.

"Don't worry, our team will get one eventually, we just gotta come up with a name." Natsu said reassuringly.

"I wasn't too worried about that, and back on topic, I noticed you weren't really mentioned in that team. So what's your name?" Ichigo asked, looking at the white-haired man.

"I'm Eflman Strauss, and before you ask that's not a coincidence. Mirajane is my big sister." The muscular man stated, ending with a small chuckle.

"I can see that, not too many people have white hair that I've seen." Ichigo thought aloud.

"Same could be said about orange hair too ya know." Elfman pointed out jokingly.

"Anyway, how do you like being a member of the guild so far?" Levy inquired, smiling brightly as she spoke.

"I like it a lot actually. It gets a bit too loud for my tastes sometimes but I can manage." Ichigo replied.

"Yeah, I can get that. I'm really not one to rush into a fight, I'd much rather prefer to read a good book." Levy replied bashfully.

"Oh, you like to read? Maybe you should introduce yourself to Lucy, she seemed to like books a hell of a lot from what I could tell." Ichigo suggested.

"Actually Natsu already introduced us. I think it's really cool that she's writing her own novel, and I sort of made her promise to let me read it when it's done." Levy replied.

"Really…" Ichigo trailed off, giving a glance towards the pink-haired dragon slayer.

"Hey, I'm introducing you now, aren't I?" Natsu countered.

"So tell us about yourself! If you got the master to believe you weren't really from this dimension I'm just dying to know where you come from and what it looks like." Levy said excitedly.

"Not much I can really say about what it looks like since nothing can really compare to seeing it in person, but if you're asking about me personally, I'd say I…" Ichigo began.

"Oh there's no need for you to be so boring about introducing yourself Ichigo! Here, let me help you out a bit." Cana chirped as she took a seat down at the table next to the white-haired man.

"Hey Cana, did the two of you already meet?" Levy asked curiously.

"Yup, but I didn't really get a chance to ask him anything. Right now though I want to play a bit of a game that might give us some insight as to what's underneath that scowl of his… figuratively speaking, I've already seen most of the good stuff, after all." Cana stated, giggling at the recollection of the orange-haired teen's picture.

"Oh my…" Levy muttered, a blush coming to her face. She knew perfectly well about the picture, but even so that was only one of the two meanings behind the avid drinker's words.

"Will you cut it out already?!" Ichigo exclaimed in an annoyed fashion, a blush clearly coming onto his cheeks.

"Easy there pretty boy, I was just kidding. Anyway, aren't you at all interested in what I meant by what I said?" Cana asked.

"Would it surprise you if I said no?" Ichigo growled out, not entirely trusting the brown-haired wizard given what he knew about her personality thus far.

"Now that hurts me a little bit, but I guess I had that coming. Anyway, the type of magic I use is card magic and one of its uses is revealing someone's personality through something similar to fortune telling. However this is a thousand times more accurate than those cheap hacks." Cana stated.

"Come on Ichigo, it sounds like it'd be fun!" Natsu said cheerfully, patting his friend on the back in a childish manner.

"Guess it couldn't hurt…" Ichigo thought aloud before taking a seat.

The brown-haired woman then shuffled a series of cards in a very experienced manner, doing several difficult tricks as she gracefully prepared the deck. Everyone else sat in place looking at the events, and even a few that weren't present zoned in on the game with their ears so as to listen in on the conversation.

Cana's fortune cards were actually quite accurate when reading people, and, even though most people never bothered to use them since it would likely end badly for them, this was a rare instance in which the booze enthusiast was likely to hold back on any tricks. This was clearly only put to rest in favor of actually getting some semblance of information about the orange-haired teen's personality.

"Alright then… are you ready to start?" Cana asked, smirking as she set the deck down on the surface of the wooden table.

"As I'll ever be." Ichigo replied blankly.

A series of four columns each holding three cards was placed directly in front of him a moment later, after which the remainder of the cards were placed directly to the brunette's right, obviously no longer holding any use for the purposes of her 'little trick'.

"Now this one's a pretty easy game. Just point to a card in one of these columns and I will flip it. The cards themselves are actually blank so no matter which you pick the result will likely be the same." Cana stated.

"Then why the hell did you put out so many in the first place?" Ichigo asked in an annoyed tone.

"To show off of course." Cana replied, smirking devilishly as she did so.

"Fine…" Ichigo said.

A moment later he gestured his finger towards a card in the first row, most of those nearby paying very close attention to what was about to occur. Whether it was out of curiosity or boredom, a fair amount of people had made their way over. Lucy, Erza, as well as Gray had come up behind Natsu to get a better vantage point, and even Mirajane had opted to 'serve' in the area around the table the events were occurring on.

"Then the first card is…" Cana began, after which she made to flip the playing card.

When the object was finally turned over it revealed the image of a knight in shining armor. He road no horse and bore no lance, but instead simply stood in the ground and carried a pitch black sword. That, however, wasn't the most noticeable aspect of the magical card. Behind the knight stood two women, one clad in white with long orange hair, and one clad in black with raven hair as dark as night. Ichigo's eyes actually widened as the direct similarities to what he had done a little over a year ago weren't lost to him by any means.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Looks like a knight in shining armor looking after a few damsels in distress. From what I can tell, this implies you're a protector by definition, someone who'll risk his life to save those precious to him. I'd also say by the two women in this card that you're a bit of a playboy." Cana mused, giving the teen a teasing smirk as she did so.

"That last part is completely wrong, but yes, I'd say that about sums up my reasons for fighting. When I got my powers it was never for my own personal gain, and I've never seen them as tools that I use for myself even after I got stronger. The way I saw it, if I couldn't protect the people I cared about then they weren't useful at all." Ichigo replied, a light blush on his face at the teased implication of the card-magic user.

'_Why does that not surprise me?_' Natsu, Erza, and Mira thought similarly.

'_Heh, somehow I knew I had you pegged right from the start my boy._' Makarov thought with a smile, having heard the teen's declaration from a nearby table. He may be the guild's master, but even he was curious as to what the cards would reveal, so to speak.

"I see… so not a playboy then?" Cana teased.

"Will you just drop it?" Ichigo growled out.

"Okay, okay… go ahead and pick another card then." Cana requested.

Shortly thereafter yet another card was pointed to, after which it was flipped over once again. This time, however, the card was far more symbolic of actions than personality. It was the image of a man holding the world over his shoulders, clear cut and to the point.

"So you're someone who is willing to hold up the world all by himself it he needs to, always looking out for others and never himself despite what you must give up to do so." Cana stated.

"I can't deny that one." Ichigo admitted uncaringly. It was actually a bit funny to him that this particular card happened to come up. Just one year ago he recalled a series of events that gave off that exact impression.

"I'm seeing a trend here. You're someone who protects and doesn't care what he loses in order to do so, that combination is as dangerous as it is noble and charming." Cana said jokingly.

Natsu and Erza smiled, one more reserved than the other, but still each was smiling nonetheless. The entire definition of their existence was to look out for their guild mates, despite whatever idiotic actions they decided to take. Every single one of them was their family, and family wasn't something you ever turned your back on. However, these thoughts were not the consensus among those who had heard.

'_Yes, it is definitely noble, but even so Cana isn't wrong. With an attitude like that it makes me wonder how he can ever really be happy._' Mira thought.

It was actually quite saddening, looking out for everyone else while having the most fantastic abilities. However, Mira couldn't quite decide what aspect of it was more saddening, the fact that it lead to Ichigo's own potential lack of joy, or the fact that she wished more than anything that she had been capable of seeing the world like that before losing her powers. Perhaps if she had been less focused on her own abilities and growth as a wizard, she would still be able to hold one of the people she treasured most.

"That one right there." Ichigo said, breaking everyone present out of their thoughts.

The brown-haired wizard nodded as a sign that she had heard him loud and clear, after which she flipped the playing card, revealing something that caused several to sweatdrop at the sight of it. The image was just a decimated structure coated in flames with the black silhouette of a man standing over its apparent remains.

"Okay… I think this one's pretty straightforward. You've got a talent for destroying things and fighting in general." Cana stated.

"That's an understatement!" Makarov exclaimed before downing another drink.

"Will you just forget about that already?!" Ichigo shouted angrily, turning to face the elderly wizard with a tick mark popping out of his forehead. Several chuckled at this, but sadly the master wasn't one of them.

"It happened yesterday night, how am I supposed to drop it this quickly?" Makarov countered, an alcohol-induced blush present on his cheeks.

"Anyway…" Cana muttered, bringing the orange-haired teen's attention back to the table.

"Oh right, sorry about that… that one right there." Ichigo said, tapping one of the cards in the final row.

Cana nodded a moment later, after which she flipped the magic card like she had with each previous, however this time was substantially different. It was the image of a man staring directly out of the card, which wasn't all that strange, but then again that wasn't the most glaring aspect of the picture. Behind the man stood what appeared to be a pitch black shadow, though it wasn't that of the man's. It was the image of a being similar in form to a demon that possessed golden eyes, claws, and a set of horn protruding forwards out of its head.

'_What is that?_' Many wondered, having never seen this card actually come out of the fortune teller's deck before.

"The inner demon… you've got a temper then, huh?" Cana asked jokingly in an attempt to diffuse the situation. She really didn't have any idea behind the card's meaning outside of this guess. For some reason her magic couldn't read the actual meaning, which had never truly happened before.

The booze enthusiast had personally hoped very much so that this was the case, however the reaction she got from Fairy Tail's latest member told her that such hopes were easily shattered. The slight pained expression was something she caught a glimpse of for only a moment, and she may very well have been the only one to see it, but still she did.

'_Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…_' Cana thought, releasing an inward sigh.

"Yeah… that must be it." Ichigo replied calmly.

Those who stood around them were either lost in thought, confused, or had no idea what was going on. Despite the difference in inward feelings and thoughts, one thing remained constant, and that was the awkward silence that ensued upon the card being revealed.

"Okay, well, that was fun and all, but I think we're done. How about I get you a drink for being a good sport?" Cana offered, successfully diffusing the situation.

"No thanks, I haven't ever really had alcohol before, so I…" Ichigo began.

"WOAH! You're telling me that you've never had a drink before?! Mira, get him a drink right now!" Cana exclaimed, sounding genuinely panicked. It seemed she truly did take alcohol seriously no matter the situation.

"No thanks… drinking isn't really my thing to begin with." Ichigo said sternly.

"The hell it isn't! Mira, do whatever you did to get him in the picture and get him to take a drink." Cana requested, her tone sounding serious.

"I wouldn't mind seeing him with his shirt off in person!" A female yelled out.

Ichigo immediately whipped around, a blush evident on his face, in an effort to see whoever it was that made that comment. This, in turn, caused several near him to laugh, but everyone seemed to miss the ever-so-slight scowl that made its way onto the barmaid's face upon hearing that comment being randomly yelled out by one of the guild's female wizards.

"Come on Ichigo… _one_ drink." Cana said, holding up a fresh mug to the substitute's face.

The orange-haired teen turned around once more, directing his sights towards the mug that was just within his reach. He knew full well that the brown-haired wizard wasn't going to let this go anytime soon, especially if her orientation towards binge drinking was anything to go by. With that in mind, he released a heavy sigh of annoyance and slumped his shoulders momentarily, after which he chose to speak once more.

"Fine, one drink, that's it." Ichigo said sternly, taking the mug in his hands.

"Of course… just one drink…" Cana replied, hiding the smirk that came onto her lips with the mug that she herself drank from.

**A/N Okay, so that wraps up this chapter and the next one will be posted on Monday. **

_**Explanations**_:

**What's Next?**: The trial with the magic council, and they're just _dying_ to meet Ichigo at this point. How will they react, only time will tell.

_**Reviews**_:

**thestorymaker2**: It won't show up for some time, but when it does, it will be epic, or at the very least I will try to make it that way.

**hollow96**: As the story progresses he will be using it more and more often, but also keep in mind that half the opponents he would face prior to the Phantom Lord Arc would likely die just on one hit xD. Will he meet someone that forces him to use Bankai? Technically yes, but it won't be an OC, it is an actual character, and he won't be using Bankai for some time since I intend for it to show up in the Tower of Heaven Arc. Also he will interact with Zangetsu, but he won't show up for a little bit.

**Pokemaster94**: Pre-Royal Realm visit, Erza has a chance to edge out Byakuya, post-Royal Realm, Byakuya would win.

**Guest(1)**: Ichigo is probably capable of defeating a dragon, though how easily would obviously depend the strength of said dragon. If its Acnologia or Igneel, I'd say he wouldn't win as he is now. If it's a dragon like from the Grand Magic Games arc, he'd win pretty easily. Same goes for the other captains if you take into consideration the differences in their respective powers in regards to Ichigo.

**FrostingFlames**: He will of course use Bankai eventually, and the absolute latest it will show up will be the Tower of Heaven Arc which is when I plan on his first use of it. It could, however, happen beforehand.

**Luna's Meow**: Before I add anything else to this, I will clarify, _once again_, that the filler-arcs of Bleach hold no bearing in this story, nor did they for my previous story. Even if I were to consider adding the events of one into a universe, it really wouldn't be the Bount Arc as that is the one filler arc of Bleach I deemed a waste of time to watch. Now, back on topic, I will start by saying that Ichigo really doesn't have a desire to kill anyone in reality, and if you think that claim is false, I will just point out that the only living being that he has ever really killed was Ginjo, which was under extenuating circumstances that really called for that to be done. He killed literally no Soul Reapers when he "invaded" the Soul Society, he didn't consciously kill Ulquiorra, he didn't kill Grimmjow, and even if he did kill either of those two they would simply have been 'purified' and sent to either Hell or the Soul Society which really only reinforces my point since even knowing that he _still_ didn't kill them, although obviously Ulquiorra still died courtesy of his hollow. Onto the topic of property damage, I will start by saying that your claim that he used it before in a city setting is true, but the only reason it holds true is likely because the creator of Bleach simply didn't want to make an issue about it. After all, where would he possibly fit in that a tremendous amount of property damage was done by something no one saw or knew about? In Fairy Tail it actually matters when you destroy large buildings that don't belong to you in the slightest, and on top of that Ichigo is in a different dimension and is completely aware that he is essentially trapped there for the foreseeable future. Knowing this, the very last thing he would likely be inclined to do is blow stuff up and start chopping heads off, both literally and metaphorically speaking. Now, onto your claim about the strength of Getsuga Tenshou. You said it was a strong concentrated attack, which is completely not true post-fullbring arc, which is exactly when this story takes place. If you have ever seen or are familiar with the second usage during Ichigo's battle with Ginjo, it looked like it tore a hole in the frickin' sky! It has a huge area of effect, so concentrated is the furthest thing from how it operates now. On top of that, dissipating into the air was by no means an option. The wind barrier was made of magical energy that took the shape of high intensity winds that trapped everyone inside the station. In Bleach, when two large forces of spiritual energy collide in the form of an attack, there is an explosion. In Fairy Tail, the same thing occurs but with magical energy. Since the two are similar, it would be impossible for me to say that Getsuga Tenshou colliding with the wind barrier would not result in a large explosion that, even operating under your false assumption that it was concentered, would very easily destroy the train station or a vast majority thereof. So, you adding, 'even if…' then saying 'that doesn't make sense' is nothing more than false reasoning on your part, therefore I am confused as to why you were reviewing as if you were under the impression you were correct. Now, onto the deviation from canon, I chose not to do too much of that simply because of the fact that I wanted Makarov present to witness it, and on top of that just having Ichigo beat Erigor in two seconds and then having Lullaby take its true form in the city would have not only prevented this from occurring, it would also wind up in half of the city being destroyed. Having already explained why that would be a problem, though you seemed to think it wasn't, it would have then been quite difficult to just have Ichigo launch Getsuga Tenshou and blow up a portion of the city as opposed to one uninhabited building. You could say that I had the option of having them beat Erigor quickly and then take the flute to Makarov where it would then awaken, but that isn't something that is justifiable given two reasons, one being that the flute likely would have awakened before they even got on the train/magic mobile to travel to Clover unless I randomly had it remain dormant, which would write rather stupidly, and two, that in the beginning they never had the intent of giving Lullaby to Makarov in the first place. Also, in reference to what details I could have changed, most of them would have been pointless and effectively forced something astronomically stupid to occur, which would have been something like the Lullaby flute being taken from Kage in the first place and then the demon showing up on the train tracks even before they confronted Erigor. Your argument here seems to be that 'I could have changed…' when the reality of the situation is that any major changes that I _could _have made would have been entirely pointless and subsequently force other things to happen in succession that would cause the flow of the story to be offset. By no means was I constrained by cannon, the choice to make it like this was very much so my intent and said choices resulted due to a continuous struggle of what I want to have happen vs. what I can change.

**ben 10.000**: Who ever said the Quincy arc wouldn't even happen… ;P

**The10thDoctor1964**: There will of course be some original arcs, but there won't realistically be many full-fledged arcs until after the Tower of Heave. Of course there will be different events, but adding the full-fledged arcs would be sort-of pointless. Also, no, Death Magic does not work on Ichigo.

**Tennin Chwang**: You haven't offended me whatsoever, but even so everything you have said is easily refutable. Firstly, it's kind of presumptuous of you to base your question off of a singular arc of Fairy Tail which was very much so incapable of being written _properly_ any other way. Also, I haven't really handicapped him all that much and even if I did it wasn't even for the purposes of 'nerfing' him, it was for the purposes of setting up events that I simply wanted to occur. For example, had I chosen to have Ichigo beat Erigor in about two seconds, which would have been boring, I would then have to either zone out the Lullaby becoming a demon or have it happen in the center of the city. Doing that would essentially make the chapter quick and have literally zero effect on anything, as opposed to the way I did it in which at least the guild masters as well as Gray, Natsu, Erza, Lucy, Makarov and Happy capable of seeing Getsuga Tenshou firsthand. I am sure you'll agree that having it explained to Makarov is nowhere near as captivating as having him see it firsthand. I assume you are alluding to the problem of property damage with the 'hamstrings' as simply having him not want to kill Erigor is just how he fights. If you dispute the latter, I will point out that the _only_ living being, filler arcs obviously being ignored, he has actually ever consciously killed has been Ginjo, and there were extenuating circumstances which pretty much called for that. Hollows do not count because they're souls are purified after being defeated by a Soul Reaper and Ulquiorra wasn't actually killed by Ichigo, so having him not possess the desire to chop Erigor in half is standard which is a point I don't think you can dispute. As for the property damage thing, the reason he doesn't want to cause too much is because that leads to trouble. Keep in mind he is perfectly aware he is stuck and is also aware that he is in a different dimension that has different rules than his own in that when you blow stuff up that doesn't belong to you, it actually matters, unlike in Hueco Mundo, Fake Karakura, or even really the Soul Society. Back to my main point, given that he is in a place he can't get out of, the very last thing he should want to do would be to just blow stuff up, which he has a very natural talent for. The environment is different, and making Ichigo ignore that would make him a complete idiot, which he is not. As far as his presence having no effect, the story is, again, just beginning, and the Lullaby arc is just something that didn't leave much room for adaptation that also allowed for the final fight to turn out the way I wanted it to. That said, I will state very honestly that their won't be _too_ many different events, meaning that there will be some here and there, but the majority of the Fairy Tail plotline is quite necessary for this story up until about the Tower of Heaven Arc. The events themselves will not be the same so expect quite a few changes, but the Lullaby arc just sort-of wound out being that way due to constraints in regards to what I wanted to have happen vs. what I felt I could change. Oh, in closing I will add that saying 'I will not apologize for…' in your review, takes away from the legitimacy of your points and makes you sound like a brooding child, making it equally as pointless as my pointing it out to you in this review.

**GirlFish**: Ichigo will eventually talk about his mother, but I don't see a reason for him to bring up the Thirteen Court Guard squads when doing so.

**ultima-owner**: Don't worry, I knew perfectly well what Tartaros is xD.

**lijuan**: Ichigo won't be leaving Fairy Tail for a long, long, long, long time in regards to what chapter it occurs, so there isn't really a definitive answer for your question.

**Hotstreak's crossover stories**: They're basically just really good friends for the time being.

**Zaralann**: I thought that's what you were referring to, but I wasn't sure. To actually answer your question, no, he can't do that xD. I mean, if he was in that form, I suppose he _could_, but as it stands he can't. Also the point of having Natsu and Ichigo taking down Erigor together, this is what I assume you were in part referring to, was just a bit of character development. Remember, I still have to establish relationships and all that good stuff since it's _really early_ in this story. By no means will the two on one fight that Ichigo could in theory end in a split-second be a trend. He will take the back seat when he believed it isn't his battle to fight occasionally, but for the most part that isn't to 'even the chances', as it were. For your last question, no, Ichigo won't be able to sense Seigrain is a hologram/a projection. It obviously had some kind of magical energy, Seigrain was basically of the same mind with Jellal, and since the Magic Council didn't even notice, I can't really justify Ichigo noticing since he isn't even all that familiar with magical energy himself.

**Guest(2)**: Maybe, I haven't really decided.

**Exanime Draco**: Um… I don't know why you would have to apologize, but okay… anyway, to actually answer your question, this story has nothing to do with TFTH. It is completely independent of that. This story will likely be the first of a trilogy that I will eventually and hopefully finish.

**OddEvan**: In chapter 9, there is a section entitled _**Expiations**_:, under which there is something titled **Ichigo's Power Level**:, and it is the first thing on the list. Just check that out and it will answer your question.

**cellum95**: It's realistically just a pose for gathering a large amount of spirit energy. His Bankai pose like that isn't even seen post-fullbring arc, but, prior to that, it was.

**Arrankor**: You are mostly right, but the first arc doesn't give me much freedom to play around with the course of events given that I wanted it to end exactly the way it did. The future arcs will definitely have more deviation, but the Lullaby arc was just something I basically had to write this way.


	13. Stand Trial?

**Okay, so for reason I can't say this fic won't continue… HA! Yeah right! As if I'd actually ever do/say that… wow, I just realized I probably gave someone a heart attack for a second. But no, the reason I just said that was a complete joke that I felt compelled to do because this chapter, coupled with the next, are completely finished! This means that since it's early you'll all just have to deal with the momentarily higher blood pressures I gave you. The reason/problem as to why this chapter is coming so quickly is because I finished the chapter involving the trial and it ended up being nearly 20k words so I split it up and would like to just have it go in rapid succession. That means that, while this chapter is coming early, the next one will still be posted on Monday. Hope you guts enjoy this little treat. **

**Chapter 13 **

"Come on, Ichigo, _one_ drink." Cana said, holding up a fresh mug to the substitute's face.

The orange-haired teen turned around once more, directing his sights towards the mug that was just within his reach. He knew full well that the brown-haired wizard wasn't going to let this go anytime soon, especially if her orientation towards binge drinking was anything to go by. With that in mind, he released a heavy sigh of annoyance and slumped his shoulders momentarily, after which he chose to speak once more.

"Fine, one drink, that's it." Ichigo said sternly, taking the mug in his hands.

"Of course… just one drink…" Cana replied, hiding the smirk that came onto her lips with the mug that she herself drank from.

_**Fairy Tail Guild Hall, The Next Morning…**_

The resident Substitute Soul Reaper currently enjoyed the oh-so refreshing feeling of waking up with his eyes still closed. He instantly noticed several things, each of which didn't really give him a pleasant disposition at the moment. Firstly, he could feel the hard wood floors of the guildhall underneath his back, which told him exactly where he had slept.

Secondly, he couldn't really remember fully the events of the previous night. At the moment it was just bits and pieces, and this told him what exactly caused him to end up in this situation.

'_I said one damn drink…_' Ichigo thought in an annoyed fashion, releasing a groan of mild frustration.

"Uggg, my neck…" Ichigo uttered, picking his upper body up from the floor of the guildhall.

He looked around and saw numerous other people passed out, some of whom he had recognized from the previous night. However, he took distinct notice that many were currently not present, mainly Natsu, Lucy, Gray, as well as several of those he had met the previous night. Mirajane, however, was currently sleeping with her upper body laid out on the main bar while her younger brother lay passed out on one of the tables. The master himself was currently snoring from his position atop the railing of the second floor.

'_Wait… why is my leg warm?_' Ichigo wondered.

The feeling of warmth hadn't entirely registered to him at first, mostly because his mind was otherwise preoccupied, but the second after he did it confused him beyond belief. What was even more concerning was the fact that he heard a quiet, feminine groaning sound from his leg.

With widened eyes, he looked down to see the form of none other than the queen of the fairies holding on to his foot as if it was a body pillow. She had a peaceful smile on her face, and looked like she was sleeping soundly.

'_Why the hell is she hugging my leg?!_' Ichigo thought, blushing slightly since, to him at least, it was an embarrassing situation.

"Mmmm… strawberry… cheesecake…" Erza mumbled sleepily.

"It doesn't mean strawberry dammit!" Ichigo shouted, not at all caring if the redhead would be awakened as a result.

Somewhat to his surprise, Erza's reaction was really rather tame. Her eyes widened out of surprise as if she had been startled, but she didn't jump or yelp in the slightest. Upon waking she turned to look up towards Ichigo, obviously not taking note of her own position for the moment.

"You shouted, did something happen?" Erza asked in her usual robotic tone of voice.

"Yeah, I woke up to see you hugging my leg and mumbling something about strawberry cheesecake. So I will repeat this for the _last _time. My name doesn't mean strawberry, it means he who protects." Ichigo said as calmly as he was able, though he sincerely doubted this would be the 'last' time he had to say that.

The scarlet-haired woman looked at him confusedly for a split second, after which she took notice of what she was currently going. Almost immediately she released her hold on his leg, a slight blush covering her cheeks out of embarrassment for what she had unconsciously done. In an effort to apologize, she got up from her position on the ground and directed a deep bow towards the orange-haired teen.

"I see… then please allow me to apologize for my actions. You may stri…" Erza began, only to be cut off.

"Forget about it, it's not a big deal." Ichigo said, after which he himself got up from the floor and cracked his neck.

"Very well… then I should take my leave now." Erza replied before coming up from the bow.

A moment later she turned her back towards the substitute and made to leave the guildhall, an action that drastically confused the only other person who happened to be awake alongside her.

"Where are you going?" Ichigo asked confusedly.

Erza turned to look at him with a raised brow, clearly not understanding the confusion that the orange-haired Soul Reaper was exhibiting. Perhaps his lack of memory on what was about to occur was a result of spending too much time with a certain dragon slayer.

"My fight with Natsu is about to begin shortly. We agreed on the time last night during all of the commotion. You were there when it happened therefore I am confused as to why you seem to have forgotten." Erza explained.

"Yeah… I think I remember that happening." Ichigo thought aloud.

"Regardless, I am on my way towards the chosen location. You are welcome to accompany me if you wish." Erza offered in a friendly manner.

"Sure." Ichigo simply replied, knowing full well that he didn't have anything better to do at the moment. On top of that he did need to find Natsu since the dragon slayer had left him at the guildhall that night, and there was no point in going anywhere else if he already knew where he'd be.

_**Streets of Magnolia**_

The city was currently buzzing with activity despite the fact that it was somewhat early in the morning. People were out shopping, children were already running around in what seemed to be a random manner, and even a few people were just taking a walk in the early morning sun.

"Is it really true that you are from another dimension as the others have said?" Erza questioned abruptly.

Thus far the two had walked in silence, though it wasn't exactly comfortable given that very clearly the scarlet-haired mage wanted to say something but was hesitating. It was actually a source of comfort to Ichigo that she had chosen to speak up otherwise the awkward silence would have just continued for the remainder of the distance they needed to travel.

"Yes, that's the truth. Out of curiosity, what did they say exactly?" Ichigo asked.

"Lucy informed me that you were somehow sucked into this world by the means of something called a 'restrictive current', if my memory serves me well. She also informed me that the master believes you are telling the truth, and that is all I honestly need to hear for me to believe you." Erza replied.

"Really?" Ichigo exclaimed, sounding confused.

"Well… I do have questions regarding the topic, but they can wait." Erza mused.

"Why not just ask them now? We've got some time until we get to where you're fighting Natsu, so you may as well." Ichigo reasoned.

"Very well… then I would like to ask if there is something similar to magic from where you come from. You give off an aura of energy whenever you fight, but it isn't like any type of magical energy I've felt before." Erza said.

"To answer your question, no… at least, not really. From where I come from there is something similar to magic energy but normal people don't really have it like they do in this world." Ichigo replied.

"I see. That explains why you were able to power the magic mobile. That is very interesting, but still it leaves me wondering how exactly your powers fit in if most do not have them." Erza stated.

"There are two realms of existence where I come from… well, technically three that I've been to at least. The first of these worlds is called the Soul Society, and that is where the concept of spiritual energy comes from. When people pass away, they go to this place in what is called a soul form. Every human has a soul, and when they die their soul is released. When that happens they become invisible to normal people because they are at a higher level of existence, and while they can still interact with normal humans, they cannot be seen or heard." Ichigo began.

"Then this 'soul form' is what you take on when you use your powers?" Erza reasoned.

"Yes. The other major world that exists is called the world of the living, and it is exactly what it sounds like. It is full of normal people that can't interact with the spiritual world. Normally most souls instantly travel to the Soul Society after death, but when they do not it becomes an issue for obvious reasons. When that happens, that's where Soul Reapers come into play. Those that have enough spiritual energy become Soul Reapers and their jobs are to primarily transport wayward souls to the Soul Society so that they don't mess up the world of the living." Ichigo continued.

"I could assume that a wayward soul, as you say, would be an issue." Erza thought aloud.

"Yeah, but they usually don't cause too many problems. The biggest worry is if their soul becomes corrupted and they turn into hollows. Soul Reapers are also responsible for purifying hollows and preventing them from attacking normal people." Ichigo stated.

"What exactly is a hollow? Is it like a demon?" Erza asked, the concept sounding somewhat similar.

"In a way, yes. They live in a world called Hueco Mundo and they feed on souls to both keep themselves alive and gain more power. They make their way to the world of the living and usually cause a lot of problems, but thankfully the strongest ones evolve so that they no longer need to consume souls to live, and as a result they usually stay quiet." Ichigo explained.

"That's convenient. However I am still confused about one thing. Where exactly do you lie in all of this?" Erza asked.

Thus far she had been told many, many things that only serviced to increase her curiosity about what his world was like. She did follow everything that was said, but she still didn't completely understand. The concept of souls was fascinating in and of itself, but the dynamic of how absolutely complicated the system seemed to be was mindboggling.

"Again, that's kind of complicated. You see, I was born with dormant Soul Reaper powers because my dad was a Soul Reaper and my mother was human. After awakening my powers I became something called a Substitute Soul Reaper, which is basically just a title for someone who has the duties of a Soul Reaper but still gets to live as a normal human being. On top of that, I don't report directly to the Soul Society itself, nor do I have to live there." Ichigo explained.

"Interesting, but since you are half-way between these two realms of existence, have you ever desired to be nothing more than a normal human?" Erza asked.

A moment later the orange-haired teen stopped dead in his tracks, which took a moment to register with his companion. The requip user then turned to see a slightly pained expression on Ichigo's face, something that instantly caused her to inwardly panic.

'_I hope my question didn't cross some sort of line…_' Erza thought, choosing to stay silent given that she didn't want to say anything to make matters worse.

To her, at least, the question didn't really seem like it was too personal or daring, but that really wasn't for her to decide given that she wasn't the one answering it. A moment later her worries were put to the back of her mind in favor of breaking her guild mate out of his trance.

"Ichigo…" Erza called out warily.

"What…? Oh, sorry about that. Your question just kind of took me by surprise." Ichigo began, rubbing the back of his head and dawning a small smile.

This caused Erza to release an inward sigh of relief. Given that she hadn't really known him for too long she was worried that asking each question she desired would come across as rude or intrusive and subsequently bother him. Luckily that didn't seem to be the case.

"To be honest though, I had at one point thought that it would be alright, even better in some regards, if I had lost my spirit energy and by extension my powers… but now I know that these abilities, this power that I have, they give me the ability to protect, to fight for what I value above all else. That isn't something I would trade for the world… figuratively speaking." Ichigo finally replied. There was already an established precedent after the incident with Aizen that he would, in fact, sacrifice his powers to save the world, or worlds in his case.

"I see… then I suppose we are much the same way. I value my powers since they allow me to protect Fairy Tail, and that is why I never stop trying to grow stronger, so that I can continue to fight against the enemies of our guild." Erza stated.

"I figured that's the type of person you were." Ichigo thought aloud.

"Pardon?" Erza asked, not hearing quite what was just said.

"Nothing, I was just thinking out loud." Ichigo replied, shrugging off his words given that he didn't think they really mattered.

'_Still, the way that he gave his answer to my last question… it makes me believe that he speaks from experience. Perhaps that is why my question disturbed him._' Erza thought.

It made sense that bringing up memories of his powerless days would cause his mood to dampen, but despite the fact that this was still only her opinion she was in no way going to press even further on the issue. One day maybe she'd find out, but speculation would suffice for now.

"So do you have family back in your world?" Erza asked, deciding to change the subject but still keep the conversation going.

"Yeah, I do. I've got two younger sisters that're both around the same age. Then there's my dad… he's a pain in the ass, but I wouldn't change anything about him." Ichigo replied, smiling warmly at the memory of his family. Perhaps they may have been separated for the moment, but that didn't change the fact that just thinking of them brought him a small sense of joy.

"You said that your father was a Soul Reaper, does that mean that your sisters manifest similar abilities just as you do?" Erza asked, noticing that the topic of his family seemed to lighten him up a bit.

Realistically she was just trying to find out as much as she possibly could, given that this person was just by definition an enigma. How he acted, the abilities he had displayed, and yet at the same time he literally wasn't from this world. She'd be abnormal if she wasn't constantly intrigued by his actions and personality.

"My sisters are spiritually aware… at least I think they are. One of them definitely is, and the younger of the two is somewhat aware but still cannot see spirits just yet, however that could change in the future. My dad still actually has his powers, but to tell you the truth how he got to where he is now isn't a story I've asked him to tell." Ichigo replied.

The conversation seemed to be going good, however Erza's desire to continue it conflicted with her desire not to ask any questions that would put Ichigo in a foul mood an instant later.

"And what about your mother?" Erza asked, giving a sideways glance towards the orange-haired teen.

The scarlet-haired wizard almost winced at the pained look in his eyes and a genuine frown of sorrow marking his face. She had seen that look only a few times in her life, and not once had she ever been glad to see it, nor had it ever been a sign of good news to come. At the very least he didn't stop in his tracks this time, which didn't really make sense to her but in truth it didn't really matter.

'_I can't believe I did this again!_' Erza thought, mentally berating herself.

She knew full well that Ichigo didn't mention his mother in any previous instance, which clearly meant that he wasn't mentioning her because he had a reason. The worst of these scenarios was if she had passed away, and the redheaded knight hoped very much so that this wasn't the case.

"She… passed away when I was nine years old." Ichigo finally replied, causing his traveling companion to inwardly swear at his words.

"I am sorry that I asked such a thoughtless question. You may hit me for my penance if you wish." Erza offered, stopping in place and turning to face the substitute. Her words, however, caused said teen to release a tired sigh.

"Why is it that every time you think you do something wrong you asked to be hit?" Ichigo wondered aloud.

"It is my way of reprimanding myself for unsuitable behavior. However no one seems to ever contemplate doing so." Erza replied, ending in a confused tone. She actually couldn't quite recall a time when someone took her up on her offer to be struck.

"Who the hell would?" Ichigo asked rhetorically.

The two walked in silence for a few minutes, though it was far less awkward than prior. Even so, Erza still desired to continue speaking with Fairy Tail's latest member, if only so that they may get to know each other a little better given that they worked so well alongside Natsu, Gray, and Lucy on their previous mission.

"Is there anything you would like to ask me? I realize that you may have a few questions of your own." Erza stated.

"Maybe later, right now I think we're coming up on the fighting area." Ichigo pointed out.

A large crowd was gathering in a somewhat circular formation, at the center of which appeared to be none other than Natsu himself who awaited the coming battle with an eager grin. Everyone seemed rather lively, and with that in mind Erza wasted no time getting through the masses so that she could address her opponent and prepare for the fight.

Ichigo, however, opted to head to the forefront of the crowd, catching a glimpse of very much so blonde hair and a raven-haired man without a shirt. The combination of the two didn't really leave much thinking to do before he was able to discern who they were.

"Hey guys." Ichigo greeted as he walked up to the two wizards.

"Hey Ichigo, glad you could make it. I was a little worried you wouldn't show up after how much you had to drink last night." Gray stated in a friendly manner.

"Speaking of not showing up, where the hell are your clothes?" Ichigo asked in an agitated fashion.

"That's exactly what I said when he showed up in my house." Lucy growled out.

"I already told you, I was naked when I got there." Gray replied.

"Is that supposed to make it better?" Ichigo asked rhetorically.

"Anyway, Gray got me to come to this fight since he thought I would forget. To be honest I was a bit surprised to see that they were going through with it." Lucy said.

"If they value their manhood then they'd better go through with it." Elfman commented from a nearby position.

The three turned to look at their left to see the two Strauss siblings as well as Macao standing front and center to get a good view of the fight. That, however, confused Ichigo a good bit given that he had seen the three of them passed out just a short time ago.

"Erza's not a man…" Mira pointed out blankly.

"Yeah, but ya gotta admit she's pretty manly." Macao said jokingly, though his words rung true.

"How did the three of you get here…" Ichigo trailed off confusedly.

"I'm pretty sure they walked." Gray stated, prompting the orange-haired teen to glare at him.

"I meant how they got here before me and Erza. You three were passed out when we left." Ichigo clarified, taking away his glare from the ice make user as he did so.

"Maybe the two of you took the longer route? Natsu came into the guildhall and woke everyone up a little while ago." Mira replied.

"Back to this fight though, aren't you worried it would tear apart Fairy Tail's strongest team?" Lucy asked with slight concern in her voice.

"Strongest team, what are you talking about?" Gray asked amusedly.

"You, Natsu, and Erza are Fairy Tail's strongest wizards, right?" Lucy replied. Technically Ichigo wasn't one, but even so she knew him to be incredibly powerful.

"What idiot fed you that lie?" Gray scoffed.

An instant later the white-haired barmaid began to cry as a result of being thoroughly insulted. At this, Ichigo just glared at the raven-haired teen who currently held his hands up in an attempt to calm the wailing female.

"I didn't mean it like that Mira." Gray said, though his words failed to calm her down as he had hoped.

"Natsu and Gray are tough, I'll give them that, but they're not even close to being the strongest. There are wizards in Fairy Tail that are stronger than the two of them combined." Elfman stated matter-of-factly.

"Still it's a pretty safe bet that Erza's the strongest female wizard in Fairy Tail." Levy commented as she along with her teammates decided to butt in on the conversation.

"Yeah, but if we're talking about the strongest male I'd say its Laxus or Mystogen." Eflman commented.

"Still, I'm interested to see how this fight turns out." Lucy stated, directing her vision back towards the fight. Nothing had happened as of yet, both of the two wizards just seemed to be staring each other down.

"I bet she'll mop the floor with him." Gray said, smirking at the prospect. Natsu may have been stronger than most, even if he would personally never say so, but his opponent was a practical monster and simply on a different level.

"Don't count Natsu out. They're both strong from what I can tell and anything can happen in a fight. All it takes is one slip up and all of a sudden Natsu could end up landing a good hit or two." Ichigo stated.

"True, but Erza is still a heck of a wizard." Mira commented.

Their conversation was interrupted at the sight of a large flash of light engulfing Erza's body. It seemed that she was about to dawn one of her various armors, though which it would be was difficult to tell.

When the transformation finally came full circle, her new appearance was revealed. It was made up of gauntlets that resembled dragon's limbs, and a breastplate and greaves, leaving her shoulders as well as her upper arms and thighs exposed. The armor itself was predominantly red but sported several orange and black parts that took on a shape similar to flames. Her hair also became tied in two separate, long pigtails that whose clips gave off the appearance of obsidian dragon horns. Finally, a sword made itself present in her right hand, having a crimson blade and appearing as if the steel was trying to manifest fire itself.

"That's Flame Empress Armor." Macao stated.

"Aw, come on Erza, at least give the kid a chance." Wakaba stated.

"Flame Empress Armor?" Ichigo wondered aloud.

"It's a special type of armor that reduces the effectiveness of fire-based attacks by roughly fifty percent. Against someone like Natsu it's the perfect weapon." Mira stated.

"Tch, that's not so bad. Actually its good news for me, cuz' now I can turn up the heat as much as I want!" Natsu exclaimed happily, lighting his fists up with flames.

"Round one, start." Makarov permitted, though once again the substitute had no idea where he came from.

Natsu charged Erza the instant after the match had started, bringing his fist back and preparing to strike first regardless of what his opponent would try to do in response. The two hadn't fought in some time, and now was his time to prove how much stronger he had gotten.

The scarlet-haired mage dodged the attack, after which she brought her sword swinging across the midsection of the dragon slayer. He, in turn, flipped his body before willing fire to form around his foot and cutting said foot across his opponents head in an attempt to take advantage of his position.

'_Not bad._' Ichigo thought, observing Natsu's choice of counterattacks.

Each of the warriors continued to fight against one another, engaging each other several times in much the same pattern. One of them would mount an attack, after which the other would expertly dodge while simultaneously preparing to mount a counteroffensive.

The aggressor was traditionally Natsu, but Erza was always a step ahead and blocked the counterattack before the fight would come to a momentary standstill, after which Natsu would once again charge in or opt to use his fire dragon's roar, after which his opponent would dodge again and continuously rinse and repeat.

"See, it's a good fight eh?" Elfman mused.

"This fight sucks." Gray griped, obviously due to the fact that the dragon slayer had yet to get his ass handed to him.

Natsu leaped towards his opponent yet again, opting to deliver a punch to her abdomen in an effort to circumvent the armors effects. He didn't necessarily believe it would work, but nevertheless his offensive would allow him to force his fellow wizard to take action, which he could potentially take advantage of. Erza, on the other hand, stood her ground and was preparing to meet the attack head on.

The abrupt sounding of a gong, however, caused everyone present to freeze up, even the two combatants. A moment later a rather feminine voice called out, at first confusing those who had heard it.

"This fight is over." An amphibious individual stated matter-of-factly as it made its way through the crowd. It was dressed in a very odd fashion, and it looked even stranger, but nevertheless it appeared to have something important to say.

'_What the hell is that thing?_' Ichigo thought. It was true he had seen some very strange things in his lifetime, but never before had he seen a frog that was the size of a human with the same capabilities to speak.

"May I have your attention please, I have come here on behalf of the magic council." The apparent messenger began.

'_This can't be good…_' Ichigo thought amidst the quiet panicked murmurs of the crowd.

"As a result of the Eisenwald incident, two of your guild's members have been requested to attend a hearing where you will be judged in accordance with the laws of the land. Erza Scarlet, you are to come with me and stand trial." The messenger stated, her words shocking everyone present.

"She's gonna stand what?!" Natsu exclaimed.

The dragon slayer instantly fired up his fists and got directly in front of the scarlet-haired wizard, obviously desiring to prevent her from leaving. The essential frog-person, however, was obviously in no mood to deal with such trivial matters.

"Stand aside, Natsu Dragneel." It requested, holding up its hand as if to prepare some sort of spell.

"Like hell I will!" Natsu shouted defiantly.

"Very well…" The messenger trailed off.

A ball of energy formed in its hand, altering most present to what was about to happen. It didn't have the feel of a destructive attack, but even so it didn't give off the appearance of something that you'd want to be hit with.

"Someone catch me." Ichigo stated.

An instant later he grabbed his combat pass and leaped in front of his pink-haired comrade, doing so just in time to slice what he presumed to be an attack in half and subsequently causing it to fall harmlessly to his sides.

"That was fast…" Elfman commented.

"Can someone please help me with this?!" Lucy exclaimed, being the only one who had actually been in a position to catch the teen's body, and even then she had barely heard his words in time to act.

"That was a polymorphic spell you dolt, it's completely harmless." Makarov stated from the sidelines.

"How the hell was I supposed to know that?!" Ichigo shouted back in an annoyed manner.

"Orange hair, black clothing, a large cleaver-like sword… you must be Ichigo Kurosaki, am I correct?" The woman asked politely, allowing her hand to rest at her side once more.

"Yeah, that's me." Ichigo replied, sheathing his sword within the white cloth and placing it on his back once more.

"You are the second member of your guild whose presence was requested. The both of you come with me please." She requested.

"Can you tell me why it is I am being arrested first?" Ichigo asked, his eyes slightly narrowed as he gazed on the odd-looking amphibian's form.

"You are not being officially arrested. Erza Scarlet is the only one who has been criminally charged as a result of her recent actions. However you have still been requested to come in for questioning in order for the council to determine if you should share in her sentence." The messenger explained.

"You said requested, so what happens if I decide not to go?" Ichigo asked. If he could avoid a meeting with the magic council as well as a lengthy explanation that may or may not cause him to wind up in jail he most certainly would.

"Then perhaps the original sentence on Erza Scarlet will be more severe than was originally intended." The messenger replied ominously.

Ichigo scowled at this, mostly because he knew full well that this weird-looking frog thing had just successfully guaranteed he would attend the 'trial'. It was true that he didn't want to be dragged into it, but he wouldn't take the easy way out at the expense of someone else, that just wasn't who he was.

"Fine, I guess I have no issues tagging along." Ichigo said, his tone one of clear annoyance.

"Splendid, come with me please." She requested.

"Hang on, let me get my body." Ichigo stated blankly.

The messenger looked at him strangely but chose to say nothing, however that was not the choice of a certain dragon slayer who very clearly didn't want either of the two to head towards some kind of trail for something that the entire guild was likely responsible for.

"Hey, wait a minute, you two are actually going through with this?!" Natsu shouted.

"Calm down Natsu, this is the will of the council and we must abide. Stay here and don't do anything stupid." Erza said.

"But I…" Natsu began, only to be cut off.

"Listen to Erza, Natsu. We'll be fine, and the last thing we need is this getting worse than it already is." Ichigo stated as he walked out of the crowd, once again being within his body.

"Are you ready then? We mustn't keep the council waiting after all." The amphibian said.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Ichigo replied.

The three began to walk off, everyone else staying silent as they did so. Very clearly they all wanted to say something, but at the same time no one wanted to make anything worse. Even Natsu kept quiet as they headed off for what he thought to be the worst.

"You didn't have to do that for my sake. I would have been perfectly fine regardless of what your choice was." Erza stated abruptly, sounding somewhat annoyed that someone else had been brought into this when it could have technically been avoided. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful, but even so she preferred to be the one making sacrifices for others, not the other way around.

"If I didn't go then it'd just create more trouble, so at least this way I'm creating less of it for the both of us." Ichigo replied.

"I see… then you have my thanks. Hopefully this won't be entirely terrible." Erza said.

"That makes two of us." Ichigo commented seriously.

_**Train Heading Towards The Trial Location, Some Time Later…**_

The council's messenger had opted to leave the two Fairy Tail members alone in their own booth in favor of allowing them some space. In actuality it likely had something to do with the fact that a certain orange-haired individual had openly threatened her for attempting to put handcuffs on Erza Scarlet. The boy certainly could be intimidating when he wanted to be and the amphibious individual had certainly learned that the hard way.

Currently, however, the two sat in silence, though it was comfortable. Each just looked out the window, gazing into the luscious forests that marked the path towards what was likely a trail with ulterior motives.

"You know, if you have any questions that you wish to ask me, now would be a good time." Erza pointed out, breaking the silence that had erupted since the time the substitute had threatened the envoy.

"I am pretty bored, so I guess now's as good a time as any." Ichigo reasoned, though his words were not very well received.

"I'm so glad that speaking to me is a good alternative to being bored." Erza said sarcastically, causing the orange-haired teen's eyes to widen given that he definitely didn't mean to offend his guild mate with his words.

"I didn't mean it like that at all." Ichigo stated in an attempt to assure the redheaded wizard that this was the case.

Erza just huffed in response, after which she turned to look out the window once more, her hands crossed underneath her breasts, or at least eh location where the armor covered them. Clearly she was offended in some way.

"Sorry… you may strike me down if you wish." Ichigo said sarcastically, if not mockingly.

The substitute sorely regretted doing so a moment later due to the fact that his words weren't taken as they were intended. Almost immediately after he finished his sentence an armored hand smacked him across his face, causing his cheek to go red as a result. He brought his hand up to cover the cheek, somewhat confused as to how or why this could happen, but he understood upon looking back at Erza and seeing her mood had once again returned to normal.

"What the hell was that for?!" Ichigo exclaimed, rubbing the cheek as he did so.

His words, however, elicited a confused look from the redheaded knight, who very clearly didn't understand the outburst. Said wizard blinked several times in succession, after which she spoke.

"You asked me to…" Erza replied, as if the answer was far too obvious.

Ichigo opened his mouth to respond but the words died in his throat the second after he considered the words of his comrade. He couldn't exactly say that wasn't true, and getting into an argument over sarcasm was just a waste of time at this point.

"Fair enough…" Ichigo trailed off.

"I accept your apology and permit you to ask whatever questions you may have." Erza stated.

"Hm… I guess I'd have to ask you this first. What's it like being the strongest female in Fairy Tail?" Ichigo asked.

The substitute's question seemed to catch Erza off guard slightly, though he couldn't really tell why that was the case. Perhaps she was confused as to what he meant, or maybe she just never expected him to ask such a thing.

"I mean, everyone says that you're the strongest female by far. That kind of title has to come with some kind of pressure. Hell, I'd even go so far as to say that you're the one taking the fallout for damage done my me, Natsu, Gray, and the rest of our guild mates." Ichigo added.

After he had said this, Erza released a slight chuckle. Ichigo raised a brow at this, not entirely sure what would inspire humor out of what he had just said, and what's more the redheaded knight was giving him a small smile.

"What?" Ichigo asked confusedly.

"Oh nothing… just that a moment ago you said 'our' guild mates." Erza replied.

"I guess I did, didn't I?" Ichigo mused, releasing a slight chuckle and smiling himself.

"I am rather glad that you seem to be at home in Fairy Tail. Even if we cannot replace your family, we are all happy to be there for you." Erza stated.

"Yeah, I'm glad I found a place like Fairy Tail. If enough time passes it might get too difficult to choose whether or not I should stay." Ichigo replied, ending on a slightly joking tone.

In truth he just deeply hoped that it wouldn't come down to that, but not addressing such a depressing thought was what he perceived as the best course of action for the moment.

"Yes, well to answer your previous question, I do not feel pressure from holding the tittle of strongest female. I find my role as the guild's guardian and role model far more stressful if I am being perfectly honest. It falls to me to bring peace and order to our family." Erza said.

"I admire the fact that you take on that responsibility… not many people would be able to do that. I think even I'd struggle with something like that, and you make it look easy." Ichigo stated honestly.

The scarlet-haired female blushed slightly at the compliment, mostly due to the fact that no one had ever really bothered to admire the fact that she intentionally acted the way she did. Actually most of her guild mates likely didn't realize that she was so strict and professional for their sakes. It was just nice for another person to acknowledge the effort she had put in.

"Thank you…" Erza replied, averting her eyes for a moment.

"Don't mention it." Ichigo said in a friendly manner.

"What about yourself? Were you bearing a similar burden in your world?" Erza questioned. She recalled the previous night when Cana had unveiled the image of a man carrying the weight of the world across his shoulders. That, coupled with what he had just said, told her that, perhaps, the orange-haired teen spoke from personal experience.

"I guess you could say that… I've felt the pressure of having everyone depending on me, but that just drives me to fight no matter what the cost. In fact, I've had that feeling more than once… but I'd rather not talk about that right now, especially since I doubt you'd believe me." Ichigo replied, chuckling slightly as he finished. He was under the impression that even by this world's standards some of the things he had done would seem impossible.

"Oh… then perhaps another time." Erza mused, sounding ever so slightly disappointed.

The redheaded Fairy Tail wizard did, in truth, want to hear about his experiences. However he very clearly didn't feel like talking about these instances therefore she would respect his wishes despite her own desires.

A comfortable silence erupted between the two once again, neither saying a word. Each once again looked out the window nearest to their booth, gazing at the woods that seemed to go on forever and ever.

"Ichigo…" Erza called out, being the first to speak in quite some time.

"Yeah, what is it?" Ichigo asked evenly.

"I gather that you are strong, am I right?" Erza reasoned, eliciting a nod from the orange-haired teen.

'_Where is she going with this?_' Ichigo wondered curiously. It wasn't every day that someone started off a conversation with asking if he was strong or not.

"If it isn't an inconvenience, would it be possible for the two of us to have a match against one another?" Erza asked in a slightly bashful tone.

"Is there a reason that you're asking me this now?" Ichigo questioned, not entirely understanding the timing. Simply because they weren't doing anything at the moment didn't necessarily dictate that any topic of conversation would come up.

"I merely wish to see your powers displayed against a worthy opponent." Erza replied. Perhaps it appeared a bit arrogant, but with the title of Fairy Tail's strongest female she did have the right to refer to herself as such.

"Oh, so you want me to fight Natsu?" Ichigo asked with a smirk, eliciting a low but audible growl from the scarlet-haired woman.

"You dare insinuate that I am an unworthy opponent?" Erza questioned in a tone that possessed a clear edge, though her words prompted the substitute to chuckle.

"What the hell are you laughing about?" Erza asked dangerously, though her cheeks were slightly red due to a mild sense of embarrassment. Here she was trying to look threatening and he was openly laughing.

Fairy Tail's Titania did not have a very large ego, but she did have a great deal of pride and was not the type of person who enjoyed having her fighting abilities, which she had worked tirelessly to perfect, insulted.

"I was just kidding… of course I'll spar with you. All you have to do is name the time and place." Ichigo stated.

The look that the redheaded wizard was giving him told him instantly that his attempt at humor was once again not well received. This time however, she was directly glaring at him, her arms once again crossed under her breasts.

"I said I was just kidding…" Ichigo repeated.

At this, Erza's glare just deepened and he could swear her arms hugged her body tighter from their position underneath her chest. He made a mental note that Fairy Tail's strongest female was also one who was very direct in communicating her anger or frustration. He released a tired sigh, now knowing full well that he'd have to choose his words carefully whenever he spoke to the requip user in the future, or at least until they were better acquainted.

"Alright, I didn't mean what I said at all. You are a great fighter and I'm sorry if what I said offended you." Ichigo said honestly.

Despite the earnest nature of his words, the scarlet-haired woman just lessened her glare and raised a curious brow, as if to say she expected something else on top of his verbal apology. Ichigo, however, knew full well what that was, and thus he sighed once again, though this time out of frustration.

"Do you really want to hit me again?" Ichigo asked.

"And if I do?" Erza replied seriously.

The orange-haired teen adopted an expression of defeat a moment later, hanging his head slightly as if to say he was about to give in to the request of the female wizard across from him. At this, Erza prepared her hand, waiting only for the substitute to verbally confirm she had permission. However, no such thing came as Ichigo picked his head up and directed a smirk towards the redhead before making to speak.

"Sorry, not gonna happen." Ichigo said.

"You did that on purpose!" Erza exclaimed childishly.

"Maybe I did." Ichigo replied amusedly, eliciting a huff from his scarlet-haired companion. It seemed that she could take a joke after all.

**A/N Just a reminder, because I am awesome, the next chapter will be posted on Monday. **

_**Explanations**_: (Nothing I can think of really…)

_**Reviews**_:

**FrostingFlames**: Nope, he can't manifest them outside his body.

**cellum95**: No, not really.

**Krazyfanfiction1**: I am not really all that familiar with Naruto xD

**DemonsAnarchy**: Nirvana will be in this story, guaranteed.

**Fairy Tail fan**: Yup, that's what it was. Also yes, he will.

**Hotstreak's crossover stories**: Final battle with Jose will be with Ichigo.

**Dp11**: Confused as to what you are asking.

**thestroymaker2**: Yup, the hollow shows up, and no, he won't be learning Kido in this one.

**Chaos-Guard**: Bankai will at the latest show up in the Tower of Heaven Arc, mask he doesn't have… yet, and I won't say when/if he ever gets it back.

**lightskiller**: Maybe ;P

**cellum95**: Fixed it, thanks for pointing it out!

**TeninChwang**: I'm not even going to bother responding to your 'critique's' given that if you've bothered to listen to everything I've already pointed out, including what I mean by 'boring' in regards to a story and why that is a valid excuse, then you wouldn't have even written anything in this review other than 'Adios, this story isn't for me.' That is where you should have ended it and now I will give you some advice. Tone your ego down, like _a lot_. This story is written for a community, which you are a member of but not the _only_ member of. If you do not like this story, I respect your opinion but disagree with your reasoning however it is just your singular opinion and you are entitled to it. In the future, though, please do not make critiques that both assume you are correct and imply that you believe you are the only person reading the story. Your opinion is far, far, far, far, _far_ away from the majority, and I know that for a fact because _I read every review and PM that I get_. If literally everyone hated what I did, I would just have redone the chapter and thought up of something else, and since I didn't that should service to illustrate my point.

**The Phoenix Wraith**: Yup.

**hollow96**: Yup. He will show up, eventually. Grand Magic Games will also _not_ be in this story.

**ben 10.000**: A lot of your questions I can't answer for the sake of not spoiling everything, so I won't. Sorry ;(

**Mr.**** Unknown**: Yup.

**GirlFish**: Eventually I guess he will talk about the squads, his mother's death will be... within 6 chapters I think, but who he talks about it to might surprise a few people since the obvious first would be Natsu.

**Scramagista**: I wouldn't put her at that low speed, also flight armor is pretty fast and she had a lot of power. Also, pre-royal realm Byakuya isn't really that strong in my opinion… I mean he can crush 99.9999% of all people anywhere, but when you compare him to someone like Ichigo.


	14. Laws of the Land

**A/N Okay, so as promised here is the remainder of Ichigo meeting with the Magic Council as well as a few other things. Next chapter will be posted next Friday. **

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 14 **

"Do you really want to hit me again?" Ichigo asked.

"And if I do?" Erza replied seriously.

The orange-haired teen adopted an expression of defeat a moment later, hanging his head slightly as if to say he was about to give in to the request of the female wizard across from him. At this, Erza prepared her hand, waiting only for the substitute to verbally confirm she had permission. However, no such thing came as Ichigo picked his head up and directed a smirk towards the redhead before making to speak.

"Sorry, not gonna happen." Ichigo said.

"You did that on purpose!" Erza exclaimed childishly.

"Maybe I did." Ichigo replied amusedly, eliciting a huff from his scarlet-haired companion. It seemed that she could take a joke after all.

_**Location of the Trial: Outside the Courtroom, Some Time Later…**_

"This is the room. A member of the council will greet you momentarily, please wait here until then." The amphibian stated before walking off down the opposite hall.

Ichigo and Erza had a more or less pleasant journey up until this point, but then again the only significant thing about their little trip was the trial that they hadn't even gotten into just yet.

"Somehow I just get the feeling this trial isn't going to be something I enjoy." Ichigo thought aloud.

"I just want to get this over and done with." Erza said.

"Without saying hello to me? Now I'm hurt." A smug-sounding voice called out from down the hall.

Both of the Fairy Tail members turned to see the approaching form of a white-clad man with blue hair and an odd tattoo around his left eye. Ichigo didn't think anything of it at first, but upon seeing a panicked expression courtesy of Erza he very quickly realized that this person had met her acquaintance before, and it was very likely not a pleasant encounter.

"Siegrain…" Erza growled out as the man continued to walk closer, her previously shocked expression shifting into an angry glare and an accompanying scowl.

"How are you, Erza?" Siegrain asked with a cocky smirk gracing his features, though his words didn't elicit a response from the redheaded wizard.

"Just who the hell are you?" Ichigo asked in a tone possessing a slight edge. The blue-haired councilmen chuckled before shifting his sights towards the substitute, a pleasant look still on his features.

"Now where are my manners? My name is Siegrain and I am a member of the magic council. It is a pleasure to meet you." Siegrain said, extending his hand.

"Ichigo Kurosaki." Ichigo replied before shaking the hand that was offered to him.

The gesture didn't really mean anything to the substitute, but Erza was incredibly surprised. Not because it had happened, but because the hand Ichigo shook wasn't a projection.

"Are you and the council members actually present?" Erza asked in a surprised voice.

It was very rare for the members of the Magic Council to travel outside of Era. What's more, for them to do so just for a simple trial and a questioning was even more outlandish and strange.

"Why yes we are, my dear Erza. However you have nothing to worry about. Your punishment is merely a slap on the wrist that allows the council to forward blame to you and simultaneously punish Fairy Tail for the destruction they often cause. You see, it really is a win-win." Siegrain replied.

"Then why are you here in person?" Erza questioned sternly, prompting the blue-haired man to chuckle.

"Oh, well that's simple enough to explain… your friend displayed some interesting abilities, mainly that he is capable of destroying a very powerful piece of dark magic that was deemed indestructible up until this point. There is also the fact that the council has no record of him existing prior to his appearance in Hargeon just a few short days ago. He is only here because we desire to ask him a few questions, and we wanted to be here in person to do so." Siegrain explained.

'_That means that this was never about Erza in the first place…_' Ichigo thought. It was, however, good news that the scarlet-haired woman wasn't going to be punished severely. Otherwise he'd feel pretty bad about contributing towards the collateral damage tab that their guild was currently running up.

"Now then, why don't you head in, Ichigo, the council is very eager to speak with you." Siegrain suggested.

The orange-haired teen glanced at the council member skeptically for a moment, but shortly thereafter he headed into the courtroom and made his way down the center aisle.

"Why is it that you were the one who greeted us here?" Erza asked in a dangerous tone.

"I thought that to be rather obvious… I requested to be the one to do so. As to why I did so, that is an entirely different matter I wished to discuss with you…" Siegrain trailed off.

The white-clad man walked up to Erza and cupped her chin, bringing his head closer to hers and staring directly into her eyes with a small smirk present on his lips. To her credit, Erza didn't phase in the slightest, she simply kept the same serious expression she had since the councilmen had appeared.

"Don't let a word slip about you know what… for both of our sakes." Siegrain stated.

The esteemed Wizard Saint pulled back from his close proximity a moment later, after which he too walked down the aisle to join his colleagues. Erza, however, stayed behind in favor of gathering her thoughts, though she did glare rather heavily at the retreating form of the blue-haired man.

'_What is your angle here Siegrain?_' Erza wondered. Perhaps it was her own suspicion, but she had a hunch that he was the reason this trial was called in the first place, which by extension was a terrible thing for Ichigo.

To herself it didn't matter, but there was no telling what the Magic Council would do if and when they found out the orange-haired teen was quite literally not of this world.

_**Inside the Courtroom**_

"You took a bit of time…" Ichigo commented as the redheaded requip user took a seat directly next to him.

"I was just thinking a bit to myself, I apologize if I kept you waiting." Erza replied calmly. The very last thing she wanted to do was worry her latest comrade with her own paranoid delusions.

"This trial will now come to order. Before we move on to the punishment of Erza Scarlet, we would ask that Ichigo Kurosaki be questioned by the council." Org stated authoritatively.

As requested, Ichigo got up from his seat and moved to the chair that was located directly in front of the judge's seats that the council members sat on. He, however, had no intention of cooperating if he didn't need to. At this point he knew that threatening Erza was just a bluff to get him to come here of his own free will.

"Before you windbags start, I've got something to say. I'm not obligated to answer any of your questions. I'm here because I want to be, not because I have to be." Ichigo stated sternly.

"You dare to show such disrespect in the presence of the council?!" Org shouted angrily.

"I think that was the point behind what I just said." Ichigo replied uncaringly.

The elderly bearded council member growled openly at the defiance the teen was showing, however his anger serviced to amuse several others. Erza herself had to fight back a small chuckle given that she hadn't expected anyone to have the audacity to say something like that to a member of the Magic Council. Apart from that, the expression on Org's face had been absolutely priceless.

"If that is your attitude then perhaps we could have the rest of the conversation while you sit in a prison cell." Org threatened, believing such a tactic would work very well.

"Oh yeah, that'll make me want to answer your questions." Ichigo commented sarcastically, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. Threats only went so far if the person you used them on was stubborn enough or smart enough to see through them. Incidentally he happened to be a mix of both.

"My, my, such spirit. I like this one." Ultear stated, a smirk gracing her features as she spoke.

The dark-haired triple agent was of the opinion that the council itself didn't really need to be present for this dreary little trial, even if it was examining an unknown mage that exhibited a remarkable ability. During the trip to the designated location all she could do was inwardly complain about how boring it was likely to be, but perhaps it did hold the ability to provide some form of entertainment after all.

"You're rather impudent for someone in your position. Perhaps we can come to an agreement of some kind?" Michello reasoned.

"Why would I have a reason to…" Ichigo began, only to be cut off.

The doors to the courtroom bust open a moment later, instantly catching the attention of everyone else present. When they did turn to see what had occurred, no one could really believe what they saw.

At the doorway stood two individuals, or one individual and what appeared to be a flying cat. None other than Natsu Dragneel stood with a determined expression on his face with his hair dyed orange and sporting what seemed like a black maid's outfit. Happy, who currently flew by his side, carried a small wooden sword and wore a small wig which had the exact same color as Erza's hair.

'_What the hell is he doing?!_' Ichigo and Erza wondered similarly, obviously seeing that this wouldn't end well at all.

"You geezers lookin' for Ichigo Kurosaki?! That's me, who the hell wants to know?!" Natsu shouted in an annoyed voice.

"Yeah, and I'm Erza Scarlet, queen of the fairies. Fear me!" Happy exclaimed.

"I do not sound like that!" Erza and Ichigo shouted in unison, tick marks popping out of their foreheads to illustrate their rage. Neither was sure which was worse, the terrible impressions or the fact that the council was guaranteed to be upset about this.

"What are you two doing here?!" The accused mages once again shouted simultaneously.

"Saving you two from stuff that's probably my fault to begin with." Natsu answered as if his reason for being here was obvious.

"Get out of here Natsu, we were doing fine! At worse they were going to ask me a few questions and give Erza a slap on the wrist!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Aw, but I already went to the trouble of using a hair dying spell to make my hair orange like yours." Natsu whined.

"First of all, this is my natural hair color, and second of all, what you just did was incredibly stupid!" Ichigo stated.

"Really?" Erza, Natsu, and several members of the council asked curiously.

"Yes really… and how the hell is my hair color relevant in the first place?!" Ichigo shouted.

"I don't know. It's definitely a more interesting topic than this dreary trial." Ultear commented, smirking to herself.

"Enough of this foolishness!" Org shouted angrily, obviously not wanting to deal with anymore of Fairy Tail's shenanigans.

"Sir, I apologize for my comrade. Please forgive his stupidity." Erza pleaded, getting up from her position and addressing the council.

"Guards, take these fools away to the jail cells at once!" Org ordered, his opinion being one that several other council members shared.

A total of four guards from across the room began to head towards the dragon slayer, obviously desiring to obey the orders that were given to them. However, no such thing would occur as a certain councilmen happened to have a much more pleasant alternative.

"Now wait a moment, perhaps we are being too hasty. I may have a better solution." Siegrain offered.

"I for one am all ears." Ultear stated.

"Be quick about it." Org said, at which point the guards halted their advance in favor of hearing just exactly what their orders would be.

"Perhaps if our young friend here will decide to cooperate we can show leniency to the other three and allow them to leave immediately." Siegrain suggested.

The members of the magic council began to think on the suggestion of their colleague, obviously taking into account their need to get information and the clear and current unwillingness of their mystery mage to cooperate. At worse they allowed Natsu Dragneel and his cat to go free as if they had never appeared and give a small fine to Erza Scarlet, which would have been in line with what the council had intended to do in the first place.

"Would you agree to this, Ichigo Kurosaki?" Org asked, taking note that no objections were raised to the blue-haired man's suggestion.

"If you allow them to go free, then yes." Ichigo replied.

"Hey wait, I was…" Natsu began, only to be silenced upon the orange-haired teen turning and directing a stern glare towards him.

'_Crap, he seems really mad._' Natsu thought. He then turned his sights towards Erza, at which point all color nearly drained from his skin.

The pink-haired dragon slayer was many things, but hopelessly stupid wasn't one of them. Perhaps he was a little bit dimwitted in certain regards, but even so he still understood when his actions had angered a certain individual he very sorely never wanted to anger.

"Bye!" Natsu exclaimed, immediately running out of the room given that the council seemed to allow him to do so.

"Ms. Scarlet, you may leave now. Your sentence is a paltry fine that you may pay at your leisure." Yajima stated.

"Thank you, but I wish to stay for the questioning of my comrade if you would allow me to do so." Erza requested in a polite manner.

"I feel a migraine coming on…" Org sighed out, rubbing his temples as he spoke. Today was certainly a day when his skills in putting up with negotiations were being put to the test.

"It really doesn't matter very much to us. Would you be opposed to this?" Ultear asked, directing her question towards the orange-haired teen that was still seated front and center before the councilmen.

"That's fine with me." Ichigo replied.

"Then I suppose there's your answer." Siegrain mused.

The scarlet-haired woman took her seat once more, choosing to play the part of an observer for the time being. In truth she just wanted to stay to ensure that nothing suspicious occurred. On top of that, Ichigo would perhaps need support if he were to make the claim that he was from another world. If he were to say that, that was one thing, but a prominent mage giving testimony on top of vouching for one of the ten wizard saints on the matter would definitely cause them to consider it a possibility.

"Now then, we will move on to the reason for your being here in the first place." Michello stated.

"Yes… Ms. Milkovich, if you would be so kind as to provide the eye witness account." Org requested.

The dark purple-haired woman nodded in confirmation, after which she reached into one of her pockets and pulled out what appeared to be a small crystal-like object. Erza knew it to be a type of Lacrima crystal, but Ichigo hadn't the slightest clue as to what it was.

A moment later the crystal floated towards the area halfway between Ichigo and the council members, after which it gave off an ethereal glow and began to work its magic, so to speak.

"What the hell is that?" Ichigo wondered aloud.

"That is a Memory Lacrima, which allows for the memories of a certain individual to be presented in a very clear way." Ultear explained.

Before his, and everyone else's, eyes a circular projection took form. It appeared to be from a random perspective, but the image itself was very distinctive. In the projection, Ichigo stood front and center with his zanpakuto aimed at none other than the great demon flute Lullaby, his light blue spiritual energy shooting into the sky as he stared down the beast.

The name of the attack was heard by all, after which a wave of blue energy covered everything, effectively ending the pseudo-video without showing the end result. However it was very likely that everyone present knew what that was therefore it didn't really need to be said. After the projection had finished, the Lacrima deactivated and floated back to its owner, giving the floor to the council members once more.

"That was quite an attack." Siegrain commented with a small smirk present on his face.

"Yes, it was. Speaking of which, where is your sword?" Ultear asked, curiosity evident in her tone.

Moreover, the clothing that he had worn in the projection wasn't what he was currently wearing. It was possible that he opted to dawn different attire in battle, but that wasn't entirely efficient, and the only person who possessed the ability to do an essential costume change during battle was sitting in their very presence, that person being none other than Erza Scarlet.

"First of all, it's not just a sword, it's called a zanpakuto. Secondly, it's with me even as we speak right now." Ichigo replied, though his words angered several of those present.

"What kind of fools do you take us for?" Org asked in an annoyed tone.

In response, the orange-haired teen simply released a tired sigh, after which he flashed his wooden combat pass and grabbed it with his left hand. His soul form ejected from his body a moment later, allowing his human vessel to fall back into the chair directly behind him.

Each of the council members was quite astonished upon seeing this. His black attire and the large sword, or zanpakuto as he had called it, were currently on his person. At the same time however, this wasn't any form of magic they had seen. It couldn't have been an illusion, and creating a body as a vessel for some other form was presumably impossible.

"As you can see, I was being completely serious." Ichigo replied.

"Getting back on track… it has been determined that whatever magic you seem to be capable of using has the ability to destroy powerful black magic that has been deemed indestructible for centuries." Siegrain said, being the first to speak in the wake of the substitute's unique technique.

"What of it?" Ichigo asked blankly.

"Normally this wouldn't be a problem. In fact it is actually quite fortunate you were able to do so. However, the fact remains that we have no record of your existence before the incident in which Bora of Prominence was apprehended by the royal army." Yajima replied.

"Yes, and this seems suspect because a wizard capable of such power would likely not be able to remain hidden for so long." Michello added.

"It wouldn't really be that long… I'm only a bit over seventeen." Ichigo pointed out.

"Hmm, you look older." Ultear commented, folding her hands and sitting her chin atop them in a bored manner.

"I don't know, do I?" Ichigo shot back uncaringly, eliciting a smirk from the dark purple-haired woman.

"Appearances aside, many mages do start their careers off at a young age, and this is often the case with the strong ones. This begs the question of where you are from. Are you perhaps from an island or far way land outside of our jurisdiction?" Belno mused.

For a time, the orange-haired teen was silent, inwardly releasing a frustrated groan given that this was the point where he knew things would get difficult. Lying to them wasn't a good option, especially since so many things about him were classified as unique for this world, which meant he truly had no alternative.

"No, I'm not from anywhere near here… in fact I'm not even from this dimension. The reason that your only record of me is that one incident is because that was when I got sucked into this world. I don't know how that happened, but all the same here I am." Ichigo replied.

It took a moment for his words to sink in, and the stern expression coupled with the teen's honest tone threw off the council members even more so. However, when the words finally did register, the predominant expressions each exhibited were one's of disbelief.

"Do you take us for fools?!" Org shouted. Perhaps he had been incorrect about the sword the young man sported, but this was simply so ludicrous that it had to be an attempt at mocking the council.

"Every time you've asked me that so far, I've proved you wrong. Let me make this easier for you to understand, I am telling the truth." Ichigo stated.

The look in his eyes and the deadly serious tone gave off the impression that he wasn't lying, and each of the members of the Magic Council could discern this. However just the same this was just too outlandish to be true. Perhaps he was insane, but that didn't seem to be the case.

Erza, from her position, just held her breath and hoped, but then again that was the best she could do at the moment given that the councilmen were still inwardly debating what they thought of Ichigo's words.

"Perhaps I can offer a way to see if this is true." Ultear volunteered.

The dark-haired woman received a nod from most others present in response, mostly because they were at a loss for words but also because they didn't have any suggestions. At this point, anything would have been helpful.

"I would advise that we use a Memory Lacrima. That should suffice." Ultear stated.

"That would be the best way to confirm if he is telling the truth." Siegrain said in agreement.

"Very well, have him use the Memory Lacrima and this will be over and done with." Org reasoned.

"If this is built on the premise that I'm not from this world then how the hell do you expect me to know how to use a Memory Lacrima?" Ichigo questioned, raising a good point.

"I am capable of showing him how to use the crystal." Erza volunteered.

"No, it was my suggestion therefore I believe it best that I be the one to guide him." Ultear stated, getting up from her seat as she did so.

"But I insist…" Erza began, only to be cut off.

"Enough. Ms. Milkovitch will ensure he uses the crystal properly. Now, if you please…" Org said, directing a glance towards the pale-skinned councilwoman.

Ultear nodded before she began to walk towards the stand in which the orange-haired teen stood. When she had reached him she held out a Memory Lacrima crystal within her palm.

"Please take this in your hand." Ultear requested.

"Alright…" Ichigo said, after which he did as he was asked.

"Now simply focus your magical energy into the Lacrima and I will guide you through the rest." Ultear stated.

"Yeah, that might be a problem. I don't have magic energy, and I don't think the type energy I have should be put into the crystal." Ichigo replied, his mind drifting back to the instance in which he tried to power the Magic Mobile.

That most certainly didn't end well, and he fully expected the crystal to explode if he tried to do something like that again. His words, however, just brought out a tired sigh from the councilwoman.

"All the same, I'd like for you to try." Ultear said.

A moment later Ichigo nodded, after which he once again did as he was requested. He began to direct his spiritual energy into the green Lacrima crystal. However, just as he had predicted, the crystal exploded into a thousand tiny shards after just a few seconds of exposure to his spiritual energy. It also likely had a good bit to do with the fact that he wasn't particularly adept at controlling his spiritual pressure, but even so he had been right in assuming the end result.

The reactions of the Magic Council, on the other hand, was a consensus of shock given that the amount of magical energy one would have to put into a Lacrima to cause it to overload was substantial. The reason the things were used in the first place was due to their uncanny ability to resist large amounts of magical energy, making them usable by most every wizard in existence.

"Well, that may be the first time I've ever seen that happen." Ultear commented, staring down at the broken shards of the green crystal that currently took their places by her feet.

"The type of power I have seems to be stronger than magical energy. The same thing sort of happened when I tried to power a Magic Mobile." Ichigo stated.

"I can vouch for that." Erza said, trying to lend all the support she was able.

"Plus I suck at controlling my spiritual energy. I'm better at it now that I was when I first got my powers, but still it isn't one of my strong suits." Ichigo added.

"Spiritual energy?" Ultear asked, a mix of confusion and curiosity in her voice.

"If we can somehow get a Memory Lacrima to work, I'll explain everything." Ichigo replied, eliciting a nod from the young councilwoman.

There truly wasn't any point in explaining how his abilities worked if they weren't going to believe him in the first place. At least this way he could avoid any unneeded explanations.

"Very well, but if you're not capable of using your energy then perhaps allowing my energy to flow through you will work by extension." Ultear offered.

"Okay, how would you do that?" Ichigo questioned with a raised brow.

"Simple… but to start off I will need you to get up and stand directly in front of me." Ultear stated.

In response the resident Substitute Soul Reaper did as he was asked, though he had his apprehension about this. He came up to the dark-haired woman shortly thereafter, standing nearly arm's length away from her. During the meantime, the dark purple-haired woman had placed another Memory Lacrima directly in front of them on the ground in preparation of the pseudo-ritual.

"Now please take my hands." Ultear requested, extending her own so as to meet him half way, so to speak.

Once again Ichigo did as he was told, though for some time nothing happened. Perhaps he was being too ambitious in his thoughts that the effects would be instantaneous, but even so patience was not his cardinal virtue.

"Is this really supposed to do anything?" Ichigo asked skeptically, prompting the councilwoman to chuckle as a result.

"If the two participants are not familiar with one another or simply do not trust each other than it takes more time." Ultear stated.

"Alright…" Ichigo trailed off. He supposed that made some sense, and, even if it didn't, he really couldn't do much about the speed of the practical ritual.

"While normally I don't like it when men stare at my body, I would prefer if you redirect that serious look of yours. You appear as if you're trying to stare into my mind… that makes me feel a bit uncomfortable." Ultear said playfully.

"Should you have a reason to be?" Ichigo asked, eliciting a chuckle from the curvaceous woman.

"Oh you're good…" Ultear said with an amused smirk.

'_I question the need for such close proximity in this instance._' Erza thought, not at all trusting the dark-haired woman given that her personality seemed to be somewhat playful. That was especially not a good thing with how easily Ichigo could be taken off guard by any actions of that sort. It seemed to be one of his only weak points.

"Seriously though, do something to relax yourself. If it would help, perhaps I could move even closer…" Ultear offered.

After she spoke she did in fact choose to move, though it wasn't necessarily closer towards the orange-haired teen. Rather, she chose raise her feet off the ground just enough to cause her breasts to bounce. As one would expect, Ichigo's face was soon covered in a slight blush, which caused Ultear to smirk and a few members of the council to chuckle at his reaction.

"No thanks." Ichigo replied, trying his best to sound composed.

"What about a kiss?" Ultear offered, her smirk now forming into a devilish grin.

The substitute blushed more so, after which he averted his eyes out of embarrassment. Once again this added to the amusement of the woman directly at his front, who giggled girlishly as a result.

'_I really shouldn't have been so pessimistic about this trial. I'm actually enjoying this a little bit._' Ultear thought amusedly as she stared at the bashful expression on the orange-haired teen's face.

"Ehem…" Erza coughed out, obviously doing so on purpose.

Ichigo's blush only increased as a result of realizing that other people were actually in the room at the moment, but his embarrassment was stifled upon the Lacrima's activation sequence beginning.

The green Lacrima floated into the air between the two, forming the same type of projection that had already been witnessed. Everyone in the room stared directly into the practical video, nothing but pure curiosity driving their actions.

Firstly, the image of an unknown land with large buildings made of what seemed to be concrete took place in the Lacrima's projection. People moved around streets in outlandish clothes, though a majority of the space was taken up by a black-covered version of a street that had something akin to Magic Mobile's on them. They certainly weren't any version of the vehicle that anyone present, save for Ichigo obviously, had seen.

'_Now this is interesting…_' Siegrain thought, giving his absolute attention to the images.

Shortly after the first image had finished its time on the projection, another took its place. This one, however, was completely different. It was a vast place with buildings constructed in a completely different style. Both men and women ran around in black robes with swords strapped to their sides within a sheath.

There appeared to be many division members, and in some instances as the repeated images cycled through you could see men in white overcoats or men and women with a badge on their arm that designated them as lieutenants.

'_Those must be Soul Reapers…_' Erza thought, staring in awe at the projections.

The next image was that of what appeared to be a rather straightforward passageway. Its wall were incredibly strange, in fact they seemed to ooze, and its tone was rather dark, but at the very end was a shimmering light that appeared to be a portal to another realm of existence. In fact, you could make out the image of a blue sky from the angle they saw it from.

'_A world between worlds?!_' Yajima wondered. Very clearly that place was a realm in itself, otherwise it wouldn't have the appearance that it did. Perhaps the other images already serviced to prove that the boy had been telling the truth, but if his suspicions were correct then he knew perfectly well that the teen's presence was a distinct possibility, or rather reality as it stood.

Yet another place then came into the cycle of projections, and once again it was not a place that anyone in their universe had likely ever seen before. It was a barren wasteland covered by the darkness of night and large amounts of sand. The only evidence of life were dead-looking trees that sprouted from the ground. Even more outstanding was the seemingly eternal moon that shined in the sky.

'_I was completely wrong… this trial has already been far from boring._' Ultear thought, inwardly smirking to herself due to the fact that her outward expression couldn't shift from the way it was. She was simply too captivated by the projections to do anything but stare into the images the Memory Lacrima provided.

The next projection, however, disturbed each of the councilmen, the guards, and even Erza due to the terrifying nature. A series of beasts appeared as fleeting images, each having different appearances but also having two common traits. Each had a white mask covering its face, and a large hole somewhere on its body. They were demonic in appearance, but they were no demons that any of the councilmen had heard of.

A bone-chilling roar sounded off from one of the beasts, a tall black creature with an odd-looking white mask and a hole at the center of its body. It stood at a massive height, and it was a little more than intimidating.

The Memory Lacrima cut off after that final image though it still continued to float in the air between the two. Most present just stayed silent, though it was more with a sense of awe backing the lack of speaking.

"Satisfied?" Ichigo asked, breaking everyone present out of their daze.

"Indeed… that was most interesting." Siegrain commented.

"Simply incredible…" Org muttered in a shocked voice.

"I would be inclined to agree." Ultear stated.

"If that is all that you needed to see, perhaps the means for transferring magic energy is no longer required." Erza stated.

In her mind she was simply trying to save Ichigo from any further embarrassment. At this point she wouldn't put it past the pale-skinned woman to grab his hands and bury them in her breasts just to see what his reaction would be.

"How do I break the link, can I just let go of your hands?" Ichigo asked.

"No… first you must close your eyes." Ultear instructed.

The substitute did as he was asked a moment later, though he did so against his better judgment. He just knew by how this woman had acted thus far that this wasn't going to have anything to do with stopping the flow of magical energy. At the same time, he couldn't in good consciousness just separate their hands. For all he knew that would cause an explosion or something else horrific, which may very well have occurred with his luck.

"…Now lean forward and relax your jaw." Ultear continued.

Ichigo's eyes shot wide open and a blush came onto his cheeks, which caused the time mage to chuckle wholeheartedly at the priceless look on his face. He had thought that Cana was bad, but this woman didn't even know him and yet she was already acting as 'friendly' as Yoruichi whenever she decided to mess with him, which was very often whenever the two were in close proximity.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"You're such a killjoy…" Ultear pouted.

"Ultear, if you've had your fun, please allow the boy to take his seat." Org requested.

"Very well…" Ultear sighed out, after which she just separated their hands and made to walk back to her seat.

"Hey, don't you want the Lacrima thing?" Ichigo asked, bending down and picking up the green crystal so that he could subsequently give it back to its owner.

"Oh, think of that as a gift from me." Ultear replied cheerfully.

Ichigo just went back to his own seat a moment later, after which he reentered his body and a brief moment of silence took over. It seemed that no one was quite sure what to say at this point, and rightfully so.

"So what is your world like?" Ultear questioned in a curious tone.

"We have no need for knowing such things. It has been proven that this man is somehow not from our world, and since this is the case we need to know his intentions… specifically if he is a threat or not." Org stated matter-of-factly, though his words inwardly angered the curious time mage.

"My intent is to just stay put until my friends make an attempt to find me in this world. I may not be able to get back from here, but I'm sure they'll find a way. As to if I am a threat or not, no, I'd say I'm not. The only people I would be a threat to are those that choose to harm Fairy Tail and its members." Ichigo replied.

The members of the council stared at the orange-haired teen as he got up from his seated position and made to leave. No one said a word as he headed towards the door, Erza Scarlet choosing to follow his lead given that no objection sounded off.

As the two neared the door, the guards glanced at Master Org, given that the chairman was possibly the quietest person on the council and hadn't said a word the entire time. When the elderly wizard shook his head, they knew that they weren't meant to stop the Fairy Tail wizard, and thus they just allowed them to pass.

"Does anyone believe a specific course of action needs to be taken?" Org asked, looking to his colleagues for any opinions, dissenting or otherwise.

"I suggest we allow him to stay here as long as he wishes. As long as he doesn't cause too much trouble and his actions do not conflict with our directive he should not pose a threat." Siegrain reasoned.

"That is true. Moreover he has already done us a good service by destroying the Lullaby." Yajima stated.

"I tend to agree that in this case inaction is better suited to this situation… very well, shall we adjourn?" Org suggested.

The members of the council left their respective benches, each having their own thoughts on what had just happened. Each of them definitely believed it was interesting, but the reasons for thinking so varied from person to person.

'_I can already tell he is going to be so much fun._' Ultear thought, smirking evilly as she exited the courtroom. She knew full well that a new piece had just entered the game.

_**Train Heading Back to Magnolia, Some Time Later…**_

The two Fairy Tail members sat in silence, much as they had on the headings towards the location of the trial. This time, however, there was one very distinct difference.

Ichigo was currently the only one taking in the large amounts of forests that lined the route back to Magnolia, but it was less for the scenic view and more for the purposes of looking anywhere but at Erza.

The redheaded requip user was glaring heavily at the substitute, almost appearing as if she was using her eyes as weapons whose sole purpose was to give discomfort to whomever they were directed at. Her disposition as well was very unnerving, mainly due to the way she crossed her arms under her breasts in a manner that only went further to illustrate her anger.

'_This probably has to do with something I said back in the courtroom, or maybe how I acted…_' Ichigo thought.

The orange-haired teen directed another glance towards his traveling companion, taking note that her expression didn't waver in the slightest. In fact, she just appeared to act even angrier than prior when she saw his eyes being directed at her once again.

"Are you alright? You seem really agitated." Ichigo said, wanting to see if his suspicions were correct.

"I don't know, do I?" Erza asked in an agitated tone.

'_Well that answers that…_' Ichigo thought with a deadpanned expression, taking note that she had repeated what he had said during the trial.

"Look, for what it's worth, I'm sorry. But with the way things went I really wouldn't have done anything differently." Ichigo said defensively.

For how uncooperative he had been at the beginning of the trial, it didn't change the fact that he was able to use that as a bargaining chip to keep both of them as well as Natsu and Happy out of jail. That in mind, if that hadn't happened it would likely have not ended well, ironically enough. A tired sigh courtesy of the scarlet-haired knight broke him out of his thoughts, after which she chose to speak once more.

"It wasn't that I was upset by what you said… even I smiled when you said those things about being a threat to those that harm Fairy Tail. However I do not wish for you to attract unwanted attention, and your brazen attitude can only serve to attract the attention of the council. Believe me when I say there are some people on that council you are better off avoiding all together." Erza stated, frowning slightly as she finished.

"You're talking about that blue-haired guy… Siegrain, right?" Ichigo questioned, somewhat to the surprise of his traveling companion.

"Yes, but how did you…" Erza began, though she was cut off.

"I'm pretty good at reading people. I happened to pick up that ability shortly after getting my powers. But when I first met that guy and heard him speak at the trial I couldn't tell what he was really after. It was like he was saying one thing but his mind was in another place altogether. He just seemed like the type of person you couldn't trust." Ichigo stated.

The substitute's words, however, caused Erza to frown and avert her gaze. He had been spot on with his assumption, and because this was the case the scarlet-haired woman felt a sense of guilt over knowing a secret about the man and a very much so evil relative of his.

"You would be correct. Siegrain is most definitely not someone that can be trusted, however he is far from a scheming mastermind if I were to say what I honestly believe." Erza replied, telling the truth as she saw it. His brother, on the other hand, was a cold-hearted bastard that she truly never wanted to become reacquainted with as things currently stood.

"How do you know him, by the way?" Ichigo asked, raising a curious brow.

"I do not wish to speak of such things." Erza replied, her expression becoming rather sullen as she spoke.

This reaction, however, did not go unnoticed by her companion. In fact it was the exact same look he had seen on himself whenever he recalled the loss of his mother. It may very well have been something nowhere near as tragic, but it was undoubtedly the expression of emotional pain.

"Sorry if that was too personal." Ichigo apologized, seeing the need to do so.

"I'm not upset about it…" Erza said in reassurance.

Yet another silence took hold over, each having gone back to staring out the window and enjoying the scenery that passed them by. However still one thing was left to be said, and thus it was broken yet again by the redheaded knight.

"May I ask you a question?" Erza asked.

"You just did." Ichigo replied, smirking slightly. He looked over to the well-known female wizard and took note of the scowl she currently sported.

"Not a fan of jokes, got it. Anyway, go ahead and ask me whatever you like." Ichigo said. At the very least he had managed to take her mind off of whatever the subject of Siegrain had inspired.

"What are those places like? I saw three different realms of existence, of that I am sure, but I am not entirely positive of each's significance." Erza stated.

She had been extraordinarily curious about the images that were shown, mostly because they were a visual representation of what the substitute's world was like. It was true that simply speaking about the concept was interesting enough, but to actually be able to see it firsthand was something else entirely. However, she became confused when he saw the orange-haired teen shiver, though it appeared to be involuntary.

"Why did you shiver just now?" Erza asked confusedly.

"That woman back at the trial, she creeped me out a bit. Reminds me of someone I know actually…" Ichigo replied.

'_Well, at least it is good to know that he isn't promiscuous._' Erza thought. Her guild had enough perverts as it was, each of whom would have jumped at the woman's playful advances. Sadly, one of them happened to be the master himself, but that was another matter entirely.

"Anyway, those places were the world of the living, the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the Dangai. Each of those palaces I think I've explained before, but if you're wondering which was which it isn't all too difficult to explain. The one with people wearing clothes similar to those that I wear in my soul form was the Soul Society. The place with large buildings was the world of the living, and the tunnel-looking on was the Dangai. Lastly, Hueco Mundo was that dark depressing place you saw in the projections." Ichigo explained.

"I see… then those creatures with white masks were hollows?" Erza guessed, eliciting a nod from the orange-haired teen.

"Yes, exactly right." Ichigo replied.

"And as a Substitute Soul Reaper are you required to fight those beasts often?" Erza questioned.

"Yeah… all the time actually, but hollows are more complicated than that so they aren't all as big a problem as most of them seem." Ichigo answered, his mind drifting to his adventures in Hueco Mundo where he had met Nel and her 'brothers'.

"Would you mind explaining?" Erza asked curiously, not entirely understanding how creatures like what she saw could be anything but troublesome.

"Not to be rude, but that's a bit of a long story and I'm a bit worn out right now." Ichigo said, releasing a tired yawn as he finished.

"Very well…" Erza trailed off in a tone of slight disappointment.

"I can tell you about hollows and whatever else you want to know about later. It can be another 'I owe you'." Ichigo stated.

"So long as you promise, then I don't mind waiting." Erza replied, giving off a small smile.

_**Magnolia: Fairy Tail Guildhall, Some Time Later…**_

Ichigo and Erza had arrived back at the guildhall with little trouble upon leaving the courtroom itself a few hours ago. Naturally, upon their return many were incredibly curious as to what had happened and how everything ended up turning out.

This was especially of great interest to those who truly believed, or knew to be true, the fact that the orange-haired teen wasn't quite from this world. Obviously it would be hard to lie directly in front of the council and the truth itself made him seem ever so slightly insane, which only caused everyone to be even more curious given that he had returned in one piece and appeared rather calm.

As a result of this, the past hour or so of their return was spent explaining what had happened and what was said. The only part that was skipped over were the few bits about a certain councilwoman teasing Fairy Tail's latest member, though perhaps that was for the best.

Most listened intently, even the master from his position atop the bar. Simply because he didn't want to smother two of his 'children' right after they got back didn't mean he wasn't curious about what had happened. Those that had heard everything, however, chose not to even speak during the telling of events, mainly because the world the mysterious teen came from was described in great detail by Erza herself.

All things considered the conversation turned into less of a telling of events and more of an information piece on the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the world of the living. No one seemed to mind this, however.

"Wow, your world seems really complicated…" Mira commented from her position seated directly across both of the freshly acquitted members.

"Indeed. I was quite glad to see it within the projection of a Memory Lacrima. Speaking of which, I believe it would be possible to show everyone a brief scene with the one you were given back at the courtroom." Erza recalled, though the substitute was in no way going to support that idea.

"Nope, not gonna happen. The less I remember about the person who gave it to me the better… in fact, here you go." Ichigo stated, after which he took a green crystal out of his pocket and tossed it towards Erza.

The scarlet-haired mage caught the Lacrima in her hand and looked at it confusedly, after which she directed her vision back to Ichigo with the same lost look still present on her features.

"You can keep it since after all I don't really have a use for it. Even if I tried to, we both know what would happen. Plus I don't really need a reminder of how awful today was." Ichigo explained, eliciting a nod of understanding from the redheaded wizard who subsequently placed the device in the pocket of her skirt.

"Today wasn't a total waste of time. I, as well as the others by extension of our telling of recent events, got to learn a good bit about your world." Erza said.

"You also happened to get your sentence revoked. How does it feel to get let off the hook?" Mira asked in a joking tone.

"One should never rejoice in getting away with doing something against the rules… but I still wouldn't go so far as to say it made me unhappy." Erza replied, causing the white-haired woman to giggle. That was as close to an admission that she enjoyed it as she would get.

"Yeah, I knew you guys wouldn't get into any real trouble!" Natsu said happily, a grin plastered onto his face. His words, however, elicited a glare from both of the Fairy Tail members that he had intended to address.

"All that worrying for nothing…" Lucy sighed out.

"Yeah, and Erza didn't even have to do anything serious since Ichigo agreed to talk to them." Gray added.

"That reminds me Erza, are you and Natsu going to finish your fight?" Elfman asked, having been the first to actually bring up such a thing. It appeared that even Fairy Tail's resident dragon slayer had forgotten.

"I say we pick up where we left off right now." Natsu said, his happy grin being replaced with one that just seemed to rejoice in the prospect of a fight.

"I am in no mood to acknowledge your request." Erza stated, glaring slightly at the dragon slayer. She still had yet to address the little incident that had occurred before the questioning had begun, and rest assured she intended to do so.

"Fight me!" Natsu exclaimed.

The pink-haired teen cocked back his fist and lunged at Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard, but before his fist came within four feet of its target it was caught within the palm of a very annoyed Substitute Soul Reaper.

"You're not fighting anything until I talk to you about what happened back in the courtroom. Don't think for a second that you're getting away with a dumb stunt like that." Ichigo stated, glaring heavily at his comrade and instantly causing his previously exited expression to be replaced by one of slight fear.

"Oh… so you still remember that…" Natsu thought aloud, sweatdropping given that he desperately hoped they hadn't.

"Still remember? Because of you the three of us nearly spent the night in jail!" Erza growled out angrily, getting up from her seat and turning to directly face the idiotic wizard.

"Four." Ichigo and Natsu said in unison, each gesturing towards the smiling blue feline that currently sat at a table across the guild eating fish.

"What difference does it make?! How can you justify such an idiotic action?!" Erza shouted angrily.

"I um… I had good intentions…" Natsu said meekly, trying to make some form of an attempt at defending himself.

"Stupidity has no good excuses, Natsu. Also, if I hadn't agreed to cooperate with the questioning, that could have been some serious trouble!" Ichigo countered, prompting the dragon slayer to release a sheepish chuckle.

"I'm sorry?" Natsu more asked than said.

"You're SORRY?! That's all you have to say for yourself?!" Erza exclaimed.

A second later and without further delay she proceeded to grab the pink-haired teen and throw him across the guildhall in a fit of anger, after which she went after him yet again and began to beat him like an old drum. Gray watched this with a wide smirk on his face, Ichigo did so with a neutral expression, Elfman and Mira chose not to pay any attention, and Lucy cringed noticeably.

"Shouldn't you stop here or something?" Lucy asked, directing her question to Ichigo.

"Hey, he needs to learn somehow, and I'm definitely not gonna be the one to hit him." Ichigo replied.

"Well now don't you sound like an older brother?" Mira commented, giggling slightly as she drew a surprised expression from the orange-haired teen.

"I wouldn't…" Ichigo began, though he paused to yawn.

That, however, struck him as very strange, mostly because just a second ago he hadn't even felt the urge. At the current point in time, however, he felt incredibly tired. He believed for a moment that he was falling ill, but that was quickly put the bed upon seeing most everyone in the guildhall collapse with their eyes closed. After this had happened, he heard footsteps approaching the guild's entrance, and that was all he needed to hear in order to know action likely needed to be taken.

Ichigo grabbed his combat pass an instant later, after which he immediately used flash step to appear directly in front of whomever it was that was entering the guild, his sword drawn and pointed directly at the intruder's throat.

He managed to get a good look at the man, taking note of his startled eyes at first, but that was to be expected given how quickly he had moved coupled with the fact that a large zanpakuto was currently aimed at his throat.

The man was covered from head to toe, for the most part, in clothing. He wore dark blue cloak while his arms and legs were mostly covered by white bandages. His face was also covered by a dark blue bandana across his forehead with a silver protector, and a green mask that obscured the bottom half of his face. One word to described how he appeared would be mysterious.

"Just who the hell are you?" Ichigo asked warily, not moving his sword an inch just yet.

"I was about to ask you the same thing…" The man replied.

"Stop it Ichigo, that's enough… he's one of ours." Makarov stated.

Ichigo turned back and gave the elderly wizard a confused look, but shortly thereafter he retracted Zangetsu and placed it on his back once more.

The cloaked man walked up to the request board, took down one of the many pieces of paper, and walked over to the master. They minced words for a short moment, after which he mysterious Fairy Tail wizard began to count backwards from five, ending directly as he exited the guildhall.

'_What the hell was that?_' Ichigo wondered, being completely confused. From what he could gather the wizard had used a type of sleeping spell, but why he would do so, he couldn't for the life of him figure out.

"Dammit, it happened again didn't it?" Gray groaned as he picked himself up from the floor, the other members of the guild waking up as he did so.

"Why does Mystogen have to do that every time he comes in? What a jerk…" Levy said.

"Who's Mystogen?" Lucy asked.

"For one thing he's a contender for this guild's strongest wizard." Elfman replied.

"Why the hell does he dress like that though?" Ichigo asked, drawing the attention of many present.

"You actually managed to stay awake and see him?" Mira asked, sounding slightly surprised.

"Yeah… but why does he hide his face and put everyone to sleep whenever he comes in?" Ichigo asked, repeating a modified version of his previous inquiry.

"I think it's just to hide his face. Master Makarov is the only one that's got a good look at his face before." Gray mused.

"That's not true, I've seen him before. That orange-haired kid also seemed like he got a good look at him after he pointed a sword straight at his throat." A voice called from the railing of the second floor.

Everyone present looked up to see a muscular-looking blonde-haired man looking down upon the other members of the guild. He had a cocky disposition, but even so it wasn't guaranteed that it was unfounded as of yet. He wore what appeared to be an orange tunic with spots similar to that of a leopard's scattered throughout the garment. He also sported a red cape that was knotted in the front, dark baggy pants, and chose to wear a pair of headphones over his ears, or at least that's what they looked like.

"You're new here, aren't you? So what's your name newbie?" The man asked.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, who the hell are you?" Ichigo shot back, holding his usual scowl and slight glare as he did so.

"Heh, name's Laxus Drayer, maybe you've heard these weaklings talk about me before." He replied, smirking as he spoke.

"I didn't even notice you were up there Laxus. You're almost never here." Someone commented.

"Who's he?" Lucy asked.

"Another contender for this guild's strongest wizard." Elfman replied.

"About Mystogen though, he's just a little shy. You'll just have to respect his privacy." Laxus stated.

"Alright Laxus, you and me, right here!" Natsu demanded, instantly getting up and glaring at the blond-haired man who stood along the railing of the second floor.

"I thought Erza beat you up already…" Ichigo commented, looking back confusedly at the reenergized form of the dragon slayer.

"Yeah right, if you can't even beat the redhead, why bother with me?" Laxus stated cockily.

"Exactly what are you trying to say?" Erza growled out angrily, a sinister aura surrounding her body as she spoke.

"I'm saying that I'm the guild's strongest wizard." Laxus replied, his smirk increasing in size.

'_I've got a temptation to kick this guy's ass even more than I did Uryu the first time we met._' Ichigo thought, glaring heavily at the self-proclaimed strongest Fairy Tail wizard's form.

"Then come down here and prove it!" Natsu shouted.

"You come to me little man." Laxus shot back.

"With pleasure." Natsu growled.

The pink-haired dragon slayer began to run towards the stairs, obviously dead set on the path to a fight. However, the instant that he neared the staircase the master himself sent a magically enhanced hand crushing down on the boy's body, swatting him down like a simply fly.

"You're not allowed on the second floor Natsu, at least not yet." Makarov stated firmly.

"Wasn't that a bit extreme?" Ichigo asked.

"The strongest wizard in this guild isn't a hooded chump who hides his face. In fact you're lookin' right at him." Laxus said pridefully, drawing a glare from Erza and Natsu as a result.

A moment later, however, the blond-haired man shot through the railing and came crashing down towards the first floor of the guildhall, giving off the appearance that someone had either shoved him through the wooden makeup of the railing itself or that he had mistakenly fallen.

Bits of chipped wood had covered his clothing and also managed to get into his hair, while his expression had morphed from a smirk of superiority to a rather angry frown. Growling, Laxus picked himself up, obviously being astronomically upset by recent events.

Many in the guild were confused beyond belief, especially given that no one was on the second floor except Laxus himself, which would mean that he had fallen on his own accord. But even that still didn't make sense. Natsu and Erza, however, knew a certain individual who perhaps possessed the speed to pull that off, and upon looking over to the orange-haired substitute they saw that his scowl had been replaced with a contented smirk.

"What's the matter Laxus? You seem to have taken a bit of a fall." Erza commented, now allowing a smirk of her own to grace her features.

"Alright, so which one of you weaklings just did that?" Laxus questioned angrily, glancing around the guildhall as he spoke.

No one said a word, in fact a majority of the guild was rather fearful. Despite the fact that what had just occurred was incredibly funny to witness, the fact still remained that the blond-haired man was capable of wiping out half the guild with a flick of his wrist.

"No one's gonna say anything? Fine, I'll beat it out of ya." Laxus stated threateningly.

"That's enough Laxus, just go back upstairs." Makarov requested in a serious tone.

"Tch…" Laxus scoffed, after which he begrudgingly did as the master had asked.

Most everyone went back to what they had been doing prior to the incident occurring, though Natsu still remained laying down on the floor in the aftermath of being swatted down by the master. Ichigo himself went back to where his body was seated, after which he reentered it and dawned a blank expression. Erza joined him a moment later, taking her previous seat in much the same manner though she obviously didn't have to enter her body.

"Well, I better be getting back to work. This place doesn't take care of itself ya know?" Mira chirped in a friendly manner, after which she got up and left the two others she had previously been conversing with.

When the barmaid had left, the scarlet-haired wizard instantly directed her gaze towards Ichigo. She had a small smirk on her face and looked at him with knowing eyes, which incidentally caused the substitute's serious visage to vanish in favor of a small amused smile.

"What?" Ichigo asked, unable to hide the humor in his voice given that he was positive the redhead was intelligent enough to put two and two together.

"I know what you did back there… and I would regrettably like to thank you. He thoroughly deserved that." Erza said in a serious tone.

"No problem… and I guess someone had to do it." Ichigo replied, though his choice of words seemed to aggravate his comrade.

"Are you implying that I haven't the guts to stand up to him directly?" Erza asked dangerously.

"Not at all, in fact I think you're stronger than blondie." Ichigo replied.

The substitute's words accomplished two things. Firstly, Erza's aggravated demeanor disappeared, and secondly, a new mask of confusion took its place.

"May I ask why you think this is the case?" Erza questioned.

"That guy seemed like he had a lot of raw power, even I have to admit that. In fact he may have more than you, but sensing out that stuff isn't my strong suit so I could be wrong. However, even if he does have more power, that doesn't mean he is stronger. Power isn't strength, and in a fight it matters who is stronger. Strength also comes from the reasons behind why you fight and how much you believe in them, and I already know that you fight for the right reasons." Ichigo explained.

"Then I thank you for the compliment." Erza replied, a small but genuine smile gracing her features.

"Just telling you what I think you already know is true." Ichigo said.

A moment of silence passed, but that ended just as quickly as it began upon the redheaded wizard releasing a tired sight.

"I think I will retire for the evening. Goodnight, Ichigo." Erza stated.

"Goodnight, Erza." Ichigo replied in a friendly manner.

No sooner than he had given his farewell did a certain dragon slayer zoom up to him, with Happy perched on his shoulder, and grab his arm in a manner that suggested a sense of urgency.

"Yeah, yeah, time to go." Natsu stated.

"Wait, where are we…" Ichigo began, though he was cut off as the pink-haired mage ran out of the guild, leaving nothing but dust in his tracks and taking the substitute with him.

"Those two seem to be getting along well." Mira commented through a chuckle, finding it rather amusing that someone like Ichigo had just let himself be spirited away without protest.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask you something, Mira. What's so special about the second floor that the master had to stop Natsu from going up there?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Oh, well upstairs is forbidden to anyone who isn't S-Class. There are only a few of those wizards in the guild, and the jobs that they take on make the ones from the request board downstairs look like child's play. With that risk comes higher reward, but the wizards that are allowed to do so are handpicked by the master himself." Mira explained.

"Wow, the S-Class wizards must be something else." Lucy thought aloud.

"Yup, there are only a few in the guild, and that includes Laxus, Mystogen, and Erza." Mira added.

"Well… I should probably head home. It's getting late, goodbye Mira." Lucy said as she got up to leave.

"Goodnight." Mira replied in a friendly voice, waving the blonde off.

"Oh wait, I almost forgot…" Lucy began, reaching into her pocket as she did so.

A moment later she pulled out what appeared to be a folded piece of paper, after which she placed it on the wooden surface of the bar, successfully confusing the barmaid as she did so.

"Ichigo asked me to give this to you, but I've got no idea what it is." Lucy said.

The blonde-haired celestial mage waved goodbye to Mirajane shortly thereafter, heading back to her lovely and cozy home without any further delay.

Mira, however, looked curiously at the piece of paper and opened it, immediately realizing that it was a note of some kind. Out of the note dropped a total of a thousand Jewel, which fell on the bar and greatly surprised and confused her all at the same time.

'_Sorry about the damage, I hope this covers it._' Mira read, her eyes widening upon doing so given that at the bottom of the note was the very signature of their guild's latest member.

She looked back at the wreckage that was caused by Laxus's fall. The damage would be covered by a thousand Jewel with relative ease, but that wasn't really the important implication of the note. The fact remained that Ichigo had been the one to push the S-Class wizard down into the railing without being noticed, something that was as impressive as it was unbelievable.

'_I didn't even see him move…_' Mira thought.

"What's that piece of paper in your hand Mirajane?" Makarov asked in a friendly manner.

"Oh, it's nothing master." Mira assured, after which she ripped the piece of paper into many tiny shreds.

The white-haired woman may have disliked hiding something from the master, but Laxus did thoroughly deserve the embarrassment. In fact, it may have actually been necessary given that Makarov's soft spot for his grandson always prevented him from actually correcting his behavior.

"I see… well, just make sure that mess is cleaned up please. I'll have to talk to Laxus about his behavior after this." Makarov stated before walking off.

'_Well, that certainly was interesting… but I guess at this point I shouldn't really be surprised._' Mira thought with a smile.

_**Magnolia: Outside Lucy's Home, Some Time Later…**_

"Ya know, I think I'm starting to get how the structure of Fairy Tail works and where everyone stands." Lucy though aloud as she continued to walk towards her home.

The celestial spirit mage had more or less been picking up the facts about her new guild as she went, and the concept of S-Class was very appealing. Large sums of money for competing jobs were always appreciated, but even so no job was worth risking her life.

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, upon coming up to the door of her rented home and seeing none other than Ichigo sitting down off to the side of it with a bored expression etched on his face.

"Um… not to sound rude or anything, but why are you here?" Lucy asked confusedly, prompting the orange-haired teen to pick himself up as a result of seeing the home's owner return.

"Because I didn't think it was a good idea to just barge in." Ichigo replied evenly.

"Don't tell me…" Lucy sighed out, realizing what the words of her friend had meant.

"Okay, I won't." Ichigo said.

A moment later the blonde-haired teen opened the door to her home only to be greeted with the sight of both Natsu and Happy sitting around her wooden table. Naturally, this angered her a great degree given that his was the second time just today that her home had been broken into.

"You guys suck!" Lucy shouted angrily.

"Hey, calm down Lucy, we just needed to tell ya the good news." Natsu stated with a grin, confusing the celestial wizard as he spoke.

"Wait, so that's why you had me come here?" Ichigo asked, having just now found out the reason he was dragged out of the guildhall so suddenly.

"You mean he didn't tell you?" Lucy inquired.

"Anyway, I've made a decision! Our team is ready for the big time, S-Class." Natsu stated, after which his blue-furred feline companion presented a flyer that had a large red stamp with the S-Class mark on it.

"How did you get that?! I thought we weren't allowed to go on the second floor!" Lucy exclaimed.

"I just climbed up the stairs and took it." Happy answered cheerfully.

"Wait, what?" Ichigo uttered.

"You little cat burglar!" Lucy growled out.

"Still since this is our first S-Class request we decided to go for the one with the smallest reward. Still seven million Jewel is a lot of money." Natsu commented.

"We're not ready for it, even if it is for that much money!" Lucy exclaimed fearfully, her conversation with Mirajane still fresh in her mind.

"Wait, wait, wait, just what the hell is S-Class anyway?" Ichigo asked confusedly, having been lost throughout the conversation thus far.

"S-Class quests are the most difficult quests you can take. The rewards are big, and the jobs even bigger." Natsu stated with a large grin etched on his face.

"There's still a high risk to your own life involved!" Lucy shouted.

"I think we're ready for it. Plus the master might end up being proud of us if we can pull it off." Natsu countered.

"This may be the dumbest thing you've ever done…" Lucy sighed out.

"That's not true, now come on… it's on a tropical island." Natsu said.

"Really?" Lucy asked, taking a sudden interest in the job request.

"It says it's a cursed island…" Ichigo commented with a deadpanned expression, instantly picking up on that fact as a result of just a cursory glance.

"Then no thank you! You can go on this job by yourself." Lucy stated.

"Alright fine… let's go Ichigo." Natsu said, after which he prepared to jump out of the window in favor of a quicker exit.

"Wait, you're actually going along with this?" Lucy asked in a surprised tone, momentarily ignoring the fact that the dragon slayer opted not to use her door.

"You really think I'd let him take this on by himself? Trust me when I say if I'm there then the job won't end up being life-threatening if I can help it." Ichigo replied, after which he headed for the door.

"Wait, you forgot the flyer." Lucy said, after which she picked up the parchment so that she could return it.

Incidentally, she also managed to get a closer look at it by doing so. As a result of this, she immediately took note of a rather tempting side-reward for completing the mission.

"Oh, sorry about that. Natsu probably left it, so I can just…" Ichigo began, only to be cut off.

"Wait, wait, wait… so apparently on top of the huge reward you also get a gate key for doing this?" Lucy wondered aloud, a mischievous glint coming into her eyes.

"Then I take it you suddenly want to come?" Ichigo asked amusedly.

"Maybe…" Lucy replied.

**A/N So a quick reminder that the next chapter will be posted on Friday and that's all I have to say outside the usual stuff. **

_**Explanations**_:

**Can Ichigo Tell Siegrain is a Projection**: No, he can't, and here is my reasoning behind that. The council and every who has ever met Siegrain has not been able to tell he was a projection. Taking that into account, I cannot justify someone who isn't used to sensing magical energy, since it is different from spirit energy, being able to expertly tell that Siegrain is really a projection.

**Ichigo's Reaction to the Council**: Yeah, I can't picture him acting professional and accepting what happened. The only reason he went along with it was because of Natsu's stunt, and also on top of that there are a select few individuals on the council that I _wanted_ to know he was from a different world. Also since Erza has seen it firsthand via the Lacrima and has conveyed that to everyone else, it's a win-win all around!

**Ultear/Siegrain**: Both of them are involved in evil little respective plots, so they do each have an interest in Ichigo as a potential 'piece' to a game. Ultear will, as you've seen, be a bit more playful to Ichigo though that is for two reasons. The first is she finds him amusing, and the second is that it is also meant to distract him from looking too deeply into her actions and mannerisms. I tried to imply this, but she is aware he is capable of reading people very well, which is obviously not good for her since at this current point in time she relies heavily on deception.

**The Council's Decision**: Realistically, they can't do anything and trying to forcibly arrest and contain Ichigo wouldn't make sense given that he hasn't actually done anything wrong. Therefore they will just treat him like anyone else but will be very much so aware of his presence.

**Ichigo's Reaction to Laxus**: I cannot actually see the two getting along as Laxus is right now so naturally they will not.

**What's Next?**: The Galuna Island Arc will be the next event that is written and expect a good bit of development in the way of Ichigo's relationship with both Gray, and to a degree Natsu.

_**Reviews**_:

**Dp11**: If you're asking will hollow Ichigo/hollowfied Ichigo eventually show up, then yes. I have no idea what you mean when you say 'experiences' but if you are referring to what I said in the last chapter when he was conversing with Erza, no, he won't share any experiences with hell because for the purposes of this story he has never been there. Non-canon things do not hold any relevance in this story.

**Tobi**: Hell is not going to be relevant for this story. In a future story, I don't know, maybe.

**thestorymaker2**: Energy isn't a problem if I am motivated enough which is I guess why I can do chapters so quickly, and as for the time it is really just a matter of me creating it. The answer I gave if vague, I know, but that's the best I can explain it without going into some kind of insane detail. I should also add though that whenever I write a story, this also applies for my last one, I write a very extensive outline that really just lets me know exactly what will happen, meaning a series of events. It's kind of like a map in a way.

**ultima-owner**: He drank… enough xD

**Ryujin Zangetsu 17**: I didn't call him weak, I just didn't say I thought he was all that strong relative to someone like Ichigo. I think he is strong, which is why I said he could beat 99.9999% of all people. Read carefully next time ;P

**Luna's Meow**: You raise two good points, but again there is a bit of an issue with each. For your first, I completely agree that in the end an author should stick to what he believes, but at the same time I was saying if literally everyone hated it then obviously there is a fundamental flaw. Yes an author should write for himself, but in the end if no one agrees with what he writes then the point of posting it becomes null and void. Secondly, I agree with what you said about the minority. For my story I doubt anyone has any real extreme complaints about the grammar/spelling of things and any errors pointed out I fix, so a majority of the critiques that I _do_ get I take into account. At the same time, TC (as you said the guy who left) was not what I would call an elitist, which is what I would call you if I had to describe your attitude as a reviewer and I do not mean this as an insult in any way. He seemed to know what he was talking about to a degree, but the difference between an elitist and a person who is simply looking at the world through their eyes only is that an elitist, in regards to FF, is a person who is capable of recognizing that the author is using some kind of logic when he makes his decisions and _WILL_ know more than the reader, assuming the author is capable. He happened to just be complaining, which he did articulately but in the end there isn't really any other way to say it, because things obviously weren't unwinding in this specific arc the way he wanted/expected. I say 'complaining; because he refused to acknowledge any point I offered as an explanation for why I did what I did. But by contrast you clearly recognize that this story is still what I would say 'young' and are clearly at ease enough to continue reading in order to see what happens. My first fic, TFTH, had an issue around this chapter where a select few people, and by that I mean about one or two by a quite literal head count, were claiming that the idea wasn't going anywhere and the concept was unoriginal and slow-paced. By the end, I'd say they were completely proven wrong and I should also add that I never once deviated from any single event I wanted to occur. From the beginning, I knew exactly what I wanted to have happen and never changed it. Even now I know exactly how the sequel (of TFTH) will go, and that's simply because I have the ability to think through very extensively whenever I write. So I will say that for now this story is normal, very readable, but normal. However, the most normal stories that are well written have the huge potential to be one of those 'gems' you were talking about, because those 'gems' never look pretty when they're covered in dirt, you have to wait until the very end when it's put on a pretty display when you can say 'damn that's shiny'.

**Hotstreak's crossover stories**: I cannot answer that question as it would be too much of a spoiler, which is the case regardless of whether or not you are right or wrong.

**It Pennywise**: Then I hope you enjoyed the subtle moments that occurred with one of those two xD

**ACE**: First, I never said Ichigo would beat Jose, I just said the two would fight. That isn't really spoiling anything, trust me xD. Also I always said that Bankai would show up _at the latest _during the Tower of Heaven arc. You do raise a good point, but at the same time I am very careful not to spoil certain things. If someone ever asks a question and I can't answer it without it somehow ruining the story down the line, I won't, trust me. In fact, I openly point out that I can't/won't for that exact reason. Since I know what can/will happen in this story, I have a good grasp on what reader can know without it being all that bad.

**trancenderoftime**: I agree to a point, but at the same time I've laid out my reasoning as to why I had events play out the way they did several times. I know you don't mean to flame, nor am I offended at all, but I just really don't feel like giving a super-lengthy response xD. In the future expect fewer constraints to be put on him since he is, after all, very strong. I don't really even think of what you said as criticism since it is true, but it wasn't that I 'think Ichigo's that weak' or anything like that, it's more like I intentionally had things happen because it affects the future flow of the story. I will add though that you'll just have to trust me when I say how god-awful a story would look if you wrote it as Ichigo goes in a chops people up in two seconds. I know that's the extreme of what you are saying, but still that is one of the reasons I had it end up like this. Flow of a story is important, so that was the main reason behind what I did. Going too fast makes it unbearably bad and going to slow makes it less bad but still not good enough. It's a careful balance that will eventually come to light, or at least I hope xD.

**Fahad09**: It will follow major canon events up to I think the Tower of Heaven, at which point it will divert more and more consistently. That isn't to say it will be the same up until that point, because of course I will change things, but I will point out that the chance is progressive, not instantaneous.

**cellum95**: Hope that isn't bad ;P, also for your second review, there really won't be any hollowfied characters in this story… let alone Virgo. Though I could picture it lol.

**Fairy Tail fan**: Ichigo's pairing will be him and two females that I am keeping a secret with the potential of a third if backed by popular demand. When it becomes too obvious, I will add in who the girls will be to the tags and announce it. As for what armor Erza will use, I can't really say.

**ben 10.000**: His Bankai appearing at its absolute latest would be in that arc, so naturally he would use it on Jellal if the two fought. For the sequel, sine it naturally will have to do with the Quincy, expect some evolution on Ichigo's part but I won't say specifically what happens. I also never _said_ the mask would appear, so your last question isn't something I can answer ;P

**GirlFish**: Will Ichigo get the cat to fall in love with him? Um… no… xD.

**Balance**: Thanks, glad you think so.

**Kacene**: The spirit or the hollowfied form? If it's the spirit, same appearance as usual, if it's the form, then any and all of them are fair game, that is _if_ that ends up happening.

**Arrankor**: Glad you think so!


	15. S-Class, Journey to Galuna Island

**A/N Here's the next chapter, the next one won't be posted until next Friday due to my need to take exams. Either way, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach, or any of its characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 15 **

"Wait, wait, wait… so apparently on top of the huge reward you also get a gate key for doing this?" Lucy wondered aloud, a mischievous glint coming into her eyes.

"Then I take it you suddenly want to come?" Ichigo asked amusedly.

"Maybe…" Lucy replied.

_**Magnolia: Fairy Tail Guildhall**_

Mirajane Strauss currently stood on the second floor, sweeping up the last of the debris that was caused by Laxus's 'little accident'. It almost made her laugh just thinking about what had happened, but given that the blond-haired man was within ten feet of her, she restrained herself.

'_Well, that's all taken care of._' Mira thought, looking around the upstairs area with a content smile.

The white-haired woman's look of ease and mild happiness vanished the very second that her eyes fell on the request board, or rather at the sight of what was missing from it. Of the three quests that she knew to be up here, only two remained, and she also knew for a fact that no one had taken it out, otherwise she or the master would have been directly informed.

Without any further delay, she rushed down the stairs, an urgent look plastered onto her face. Upon seeing the master drinking a cup of coffee, she wasted no time informing him, which likely wasn't a great idea as he was mid-sip.

"Master, one of the S-Class requests is missing!" Mira exclaimed.

The esteemed leader of the Fairy Tail guild didn't seem to register those words for a second or two, but it shortly became very clear that he did given that he quite literally spat the coffee that he had just drank directly onto the floor, a horrified expression now gracing his traditionally stern features.

"What?!" Makarov shouted, turning to face the barmaid.

"An S-Class quest is missing? Wonder who did it." Macao thought aloud.

"It's either someone really strong or really stupid." Wakaba commented.

"Anyone have any idea who did it?" Someone asked to no one in particular.

"I know who took it… I saw a little blue cat snatch it off the wall." Laxus spoke out from the second floor, carelessly resting his feet atop the wooden table on which he sat.

"It was Happy?" Mira asked pensively.

"That's crazy, he must've taken it for Natsu, Lucy, and Ichigo." Someone reasoned.

"They've got some nerve…" Azlak stated.

"I don't know about that, but they're really dumb if that's true." Bisca added.

"That's a serious breach of the rules. Hey gramps, a stunt like that'll get ya kicked out of the guild, am I right? I guess it doesn't matter though since it's not like those four losers are gonna make it back from an S-Class quest alive." Laxus scoffed.

"Laxus, if you knew then why didn't you stop them?" Mira asked, lightly glaring at the blonde-haired man from her position next to the master.

"Oh lighten up. All I saw was a blue cat flyin' off with a piece of paper in its mouth tryin' to act all sneaky. I had no idea it was Happy… besides Natsu's not cleared for S-Class. I never dreamed he'd break the rules." Laxus replied, a cocky smirk present on his lips.

The white-haired barmaid directed a look towards the S-Class wizard that would have caused lesser men to cower in fear. A sinister aura was laced in her expression, and the glare that she directed at him could send chills down the spine of most who saw it.

"Hmph… you haven't given me that look in a while." Laxus commented amusedly.

"This isn't good… I expect this kind of thing from Natsu but Ichigo isn't someone I'd picture doing something like this. I thought he'd be more responsible." Makarov thought aloud, sounding somewhat disappointed.

"Master Makarov, it is possible that Ichigo didn't know that S-Class jobs were forbidden for wizards who aren't cleared for it. Lucy didn't know, and before I explained the purpose of the second floor to her Natsu had dragged Ichigo off." Mira said, coming to the defense of their latest member.

It may have been for a reason other than openly disproving the notion that the orange-haired teen was irresponsible, but it was still a valid point. Moreover the fact of the matter was that if Natsu intended to drag him along he wouldn't explain that it was forbidden strictly for the purposes of getting his cooperation.

"That is true… if not likely. Still, Lucy and Natsu should know this is forbidden and must be punished all the same. If it turns out Ichigo was aware of this as well, then he will share in their reprimanding." Makarov stated.

"Which request was taken by the way?" Macao inquired.

"I think it was the one on Galuna Island." Laxus replied, his smirk increasing in size as he spoke. Incidentally this prompted Fairy Tail's former demon to glare heavily at him, though he just ignored it given that he was perfectly aware she wasn't able to follow through.

"The cursed island?!" Several exclaimed.

"Are they insane?!" Another shouted worriedly.

"Laxus, go and fetch them at once. That request is far too dangerous for them to even consider." Makarov ordered.

"Yeah right, I've got better things to do gramps. And besides, everyone in Fairy Tail is supposed to be able to take care of themselves… right?" Laxus replied callously.

"I don't care how you feel about Natsu! The fact is you're the only one strong enough to bring him back by force!" Makarov lightly shouted, his patience quickly thinning with his increasingly arrogant grandson.

"Sorry master…" A voice called out from behind the orange-clad wizard.

Everyone turned to see Gray get up from his seated position with a serious look on his face, his eyes directed towards Makarov before next he spoke.

"…but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to disagree with you there." He finished.

_**Fiore: Port City of Hargeon, Some Time Later…**_

"Wow… it seems like only yesterday we all met here for the first time." Lucy sighed out nostalgically.

"It practically was yesterday…" Natsu commented blankly.

"Lucy sounds like an old lady the way she's remembering it." Happy stated.

"Who're you callin' old?!" Lucy shouted angrily.

"Before you try to kill Happy, we should probably go out to find a boat." Ichigo said, looking off towards the harbor as he spoke.

His words, however, caused his fellow male guild member to panic, mainly due to his distaste for any form of transportation. Thus, with a distressed look, Natsu began to beg for practical mercy.

"Are you crazy?! Forget the boat, I saw we swim for it!" Natsu exclaimed fearfully.

"Yeah… that's not gonna happen. Let's go." Ichigo said before walking off, Lucy and Happy in tow.

"But… but…" Natsu began to whine, though his words were ignored.

_**City of Hargeon: Docks **_

"Galuna Island? Not even for a million Jewel. Its bad luck to even mention that name around here." The sailor replied.

"I see… well, thanks for listening." Ichigo said, eliciting a friendly nod from the two men who currently sat within their boat.

Thus far the group had tried many different ships and vessels that had been docked in the port, but none of them had even given the slightest hint that they would take them to their destination.

In fact, everyone had said the exact same thing. Perhaps the island was cursed, but to this point it wasn't known if that was superstition or if the island truly did have some unnatural properties. Moreover, if it did have something abnormal about it no one had told them what it was.

"Well, it looks like we're swimmin' after all." Natsu stated with a content smile.

"Aye." Happy said in agreement.

"We're not swimming Natsu!" Lucy shouted in an annoyed tone.

"But no one said they'll take us and one of them said not even pirates would go there. Ya got any better ideas?" Natsu countered, a somewhat serious look gracing his features.

"There has to be someone who will take us. I still can't believe how many people seem to be afraid when we only mention the name. Also they all gave us pretty much the same reasons for not wanting to take us." Lucy thought aloud.

"What could be so scary about this island anyway? I mean, if a message could get out of it then that means someone had to be capable of sending it, which also means that there are people who at least travel out of the island. It just… it just doesn't make any sense to me." Ichigo stated.

"Well it is cursed." Lucy commented.

"Maybe so, but what the hell kind of curse is it? Whatever it is, it's clearly scary enough to rattle every ship-owner we've talked to so far." Ichigo mused.

"That is a good question… Natsu, do you have any idea?" Lucy questioned, assuming that perhaps the dragon slayer knew something useful given that his guild was the one taking on the job request. It was a shot in the dark, but still worth a shot.

"Beats the heck out of me, but I…" Natsu began, only to be cut off.

"…am in a lot of trouble." Gray said from behind the group, finishing the pink-haired wizard's sentence.

Everyone turned to face the ice make user, taking on expressions of shock or confusion given what their comrade had just said on top of the fact that he didn't really have a reason to be here, or at least that was Ichigo's perception of the situation.

"What are you doing here?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"The master sent me here to stop you from doing goin' on that quest. If ya come back now you might avoid being kicked out of the guild." Gray said, smirking slightly as he spoke.

"Wait, kicked out?" Ichigo asked confusedly.

"Oh… so you really didn't know." Gray reasoned, taking note of the substitute's lost expression.

"Know what?" Ichigo asked warily, glaring slightly at the pink-haired dragon slayer off to his right given that he now believed something was being hidden from him.

"S-Class quests are only supposed to be taken by S-Class wizards, which are chosen by the master himself. That's also why the second floor exists, so regular guild members can't access the quests in the first place. If you aren't S-Class and you take on one of the quests then you can get kicked out of the guild. That's why I'm here to take you back." Gray explained.

"Like hell you are! I'm goin' on this job whether you try to stop me or not!" Natsu stated.

"Don't change the subject! When exactly were you planning on telling me that going on this mission could get us kicked out of the guild?" Ichigo asked with narrowed eyes.

"Well I really wasn't…" Natsu replied, releasing a nervous chuckle as he spoke but simultaneously causing his comrade to growl as a result.

"At least he's honest." Lucy though aloud, sweatdropping slightly.

"Since it turns out that you really didn't know, that mean's Mira and the master were right. If you come back now, you'll probably get off of the hook while the rest of you get a light punishment… maybe worse for Natsu." Gray stated.

"We're leaving, now." Ichigo said firmly, turning to the pink-haired teen as he spoke.

"But the mission!" Natsu whined .

"Don't care. If it's really that against the rules then I definitely don't want to piss off the old man and make a scene. Yeah I'd rather not go back, but truth is I can't really afford to be on this ice with him." Ichigo said.

"Smart choice." Gray commented.

"Fine, you can go back and I'll just take on the mission by myself." Natsu stated.

"Natsu, just think of what Erza will do when she finds out about this. She's gonna be so mad that I just…" Gray began.

The ice mage grimaced and released an involuntary shiver, which was really saying something given that his magic made him basically immune to coldness. Natsu and Lucy paled at the mention of the redheaded model of justice, especially given that she really would have a severe reaction to this.

"Just another person I'd like not to piss off. Come on, we're leaving. Just let one of the S-Class wizards take care of the Galuna Island thing." Ichigo said.

"Sorry, did you just say Galuna Island?" A man in a nearby boat questioned.

Each looked over to see a plain looking man within a moderately sized boat, giving off an expression akin to hope. Momentarily, the group forgot about the issue at hand in favor of addressing the apparent sailor.

"Yeah, can you take us there?" Natsu asked.

Before Ichigo or Gray could even speak so as to cancel out the request of the dragon slayer, the man chose to speak, his words instantly catching the attention of each and every one of the wizards regardless of their standing on the 'stay or go' issue.

"Are you wizards? Have you come to lift the curse?" The man asked hopefully.

"Yeah." Natsu replied cheerfully, though his answer prompted his latest friend and comrade to smack him upside the head.

"No, we're going home." Ichigo corrected.

"I see… well that's very unfortunate. The people of that island are suffering horribly and they could really use the help of some powerful wizards." The man stated in a disappointed manner.

"What do you mean by that?" Ichigo asked warily.

Previously, the substitute had been able to distance himself from the mission out of pure ignorance. If he had chosen to go on the mission and wound up getting kicked out of Fairy Tail, that clearly wasn't worth it. However if it turned out that lives were actually at stake, there was no chance in hell he could turn back now. Regardless of whether or not that was unfortunate or fortunate, this turned out to be the case, as evident by the saddened expression of the man and the reply he gave.

"It is far too tragic and bizarre to explain…" He replied heavily.

"See, tragic suffering. How can we ignore that?!" Natsu pleaded.

The orange-haired teen knew that despite the fact that he was manipulated he knew perfectly well what he would have to do. There was no way he could ignore an entire island suffering, and he figured the master would end up understanding if and when they competed the mission. As long as none of them died, of course, but if he was there then that was effectively had no chance of a death occurring. Thus, releasing a sigh, he gave his final words on the issue.

"Dammit, fine. We're going." Ichigo conceded.

"Yes!" Natsu cheered.

"Then get in. I will take you to the island." The man stated firmly.

"Hey wait a minute, you can't just…" Gray said.

The raven-haired teen didn't get another word out as a result of being knocked out by Natsu a moment later. He then threw Gray over his back and prepared to enter the vessel, a grin still etched on his face. His actions, however, drastically confused everyone else present, mostly due to the abruptness thereof.

"Why did you knock him out?!" Lucy squealed.

"Well we can't have him heading back to the guild because we need the head start against the next person they'd send after us." Natsu explained.

"You mean Erza?" Lucy asked fearfully, causing the dragon slayer to nod as his skin turned solid white.

"I still don't know why you're so afraid of her. She seemed nice to me." Ichigo commented.

Perhaps she had a few quirks and was a little rough around the edges, but at heart she was very clearly a good person who looked out for others before herself constantly. That was practically the definition of someone you didn't need to fear.

"No, always fear, never nice." Natsu uttered robotically.

'_Does that even make sense?_' Ichigo wondered.

The group then got on the boat as per the request of the man who had volunteered to take them to the cursed island. Shortly thereafter, they were off.

_**Sea Leading Up to Galuna Island, Some Time Later…**_

Everyone had sat in awkward silence for quite some time. Their trip through the sea had, thus far, been uninhibited. However, at the moment several things serviced to create this awkward silence.

The first was that Natsu was practically jumping off of the boat due to his severe motion sickness. It was a bit of an interesting observation that he was worse on a train or in a car than on the sea, which didn't really make sense yet it appeared to be the case. Still, it was horrible either way, so it was a moot point.

Perhaps the biggest contributor to the awkward silence thus far had been Gray himself. Since they had gotten onto the ship, he had been tied up despite the slight protests of Ichigo, who believed that the raven-haired teen wasn't dumb enough to blow up the boat while they were in the middle of the ocean and even if he did Ichigo would just be able to knock him out again. However, he had been awake for some time and had done nothing but scowl and glare, obviously being unhappy with the current situation.

"We're nearing the island. The fog is a big indicator." The sailor stated.

True enough, a murky and ominous fog covered the ocean as far as the eye could see. The waters themselves were fairly smooth and easygoing, but even so it wasn't exactly calming to be surrounded by the mist.

"Okay, now I'm starting to get scared." Lucy commented.

"Look on the bright side, at least you're not tied up." Gray growled out.

"Calm down, we're nearly there so there isn't any point in protesting." The boat's owner pointed out.

"Hey look this is your fault too buddy. Why'd you even decide to take them to the stupid island?" Gray asked angrily.

"The name is Bobo, and if you must know I used to be a citizen of Galuna Island… but I had to flee… I just couldn't take it anymore." He replied.

The man took on a solemn look and paused briefly, which caused a great sense of unease to hit everyone present given that the reason was the island itself. Very clearly they were in store for something very unpleasant when they finally made landfall.

"I should warn you that tragedy befalls everyone who steps foot on the island. That is unless you're able to lift the curse." Bobo continued.

He flashed his arm a moment later, revealing it to be twisted from a human's appearance that would have been consistent with the rest of his body. It was purple and demonic, a clear foreshadowing of what they would likely witness on the island.

"Whoa, your arm… what happened to it?" Gray asked, sweating slightly at the sight of the demonic limb.

'_What the hell?_' Ichigo wondered. Upon seeing the limb, he immediately felt something just off about it. He couldn't explain why, but it just gave off a different aura of energy than the rest of the sailor's body.

"Is that… the curse?" Lucy asked quietly.

The man said nothing in direct response to the question, rather he chose to ominously look out into the sea before next he spoke.

"We're almost there. That's Galuna Island." Bobo stated.

Everyone present shifted to the point the ship's owner had reference, at which time they saw a large mountainous tropical island off in the distance. Strangely enough, however, the highest peak that appeared to be at the dead center of the island gave off a strange ethereal light.

"What's that strange glow on the top of the mountain?" Lucy questioned.

'_A better question… why can I sense anything coming from it?_' Ichigo wondered. His sensory abilities were not the greatest, but he was still far and above average in that regard and this should have been able to sense the energy signature this far out. However, he simply couldn't.

No answer was given to Lucy's question by the man that had gotten them so close to the shore of the island, which prompted her to look back towards where he should have been in order so that she could repeat her question. When she did so, however, he was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did he go?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"What the hell?" Ichigo uttered, having not felt the man's presence leave. That struck him as strange, mainly because he knew magic wasn't used. In fact it actually gave off the impression that something had happened causing him to just vanish.

"Did he fall off?" Gray wondered aloud.

"It's like he disappeared into thin air." Happy stated in an awestruck tone.

"Ugggg…" Natsu groaned from the side of the boat.

"At least we're close to the island." Ichigo mused.

The boat began to rock rather heavily, a stark contrast to the previously smooth motions that had accompanied clam waters. Since this was the case a majority of those present suspected it was Natsu trying to jump off the boat.

"Natsu, your motion sickness can't be that bad. If you're gonna try to jump off at least make it so you don't rock the boat." Ichigo said.

"That's not Natsu…" Lucy trailed off warily, looking fearfully behind the boat.

"Then what caused the…" Ichigo began.

Both he and Gray turned to see a massive wave forming directly behind him. In fact it had already started to grab their vessel and force it into the air with the large amount of surging water.

"AAAAAHHHH!" Lucy shouted in a panic.

Ichigo, in response to seeing that they were about to be capsized and thrown into the ocean, grabbed the combat pass he always found necessary to carry with him and quickly decided to take action.

"Everyone, grab onto me now!" Ichigo shouted urgently, just as the wave was about to hit.

The wave definitively swallowed the ship whole and spat it out towards the island, smashing it into a thousand pieces and leaving nothing more than a pile of useless debris. Whether or not the Fairy Tail members were caught up in the raging waters, however, remained to be seen.

_**Magnolia: Fairy Tail Guildhall, The Next Morning…**_

Erza Scarlet entered the guildhall with a small smile on her face, a good change from her usual scowl. Currently, everything was running smoothly, at least to her knowledge. All of the guild's affairs were in order and damage reports for the last two days were shockingly low, which likely had to do with her direct presence.

In fact, everything was running so smoothly that she didn't even need to lecture anyone at this time, which incidentally allowed her the luxury of having a certain sparring match with a man that currently owed one to her.

She rather looked forward to it, mainly because of the fact that she had never seen his swordsman skills up against a suitable opponent. Yes, she had seen a very impressive attack mounted on Lullaby, but that didn't show her much of his actual skill, just his raw power.

Still, the scarlet-haired woman needed to find Ichigo in order to actually have their spar. With this in mind, she walked up to the main bar to greet her former rival and good friend in order to ascertain this information. Had she not been so absorbed in her own goals for the moment, she likely would have noticed the worried expression on Mira's face, a clear indicator that something was amiss.

"Good morning Mira." Erza greeted as she took a seat at the bar.

"Oh, hey Erza. Going on another job?" Mira questioned, momentarily forgetting the severity of the guild's current situation in favor of a pleasant conversation.

"No, not today at least… I am actually looking for Ichigo right now. Do you know where he is at the moment?" Erza asked.

"Really? Why do you need to see him?" Mira asked curiously, though she wasn't particularly sure why she had the desire to know the reason before answering the redhead's question.

"I was promised a spar and I anxiously await seeing just what he is made of." Erza replied with a small smirk etched on her face, eliciting a chuckle from the white-haired woman in front of her.

Mira's good natured appearance changed, however, the second she thought on where Ichigo actually was. They had sent Gray out the previous night, and at this point she assumed the worst case scenario, which was that the ice make user was knocked out and taken with them so that they could complete the S-Class request despite the fact that it was against the rules. That, however, was a dead-on assumption.

"Well… it might be difficult for you to do that right now. You see…" Mira began.

The barmaid then informed Erza of everything that had occurred thus far and she happened to be shockingly calm throughout the entire explanation. That was either the calm before the storm, or Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard had suddenly learned to control her temper. The latter was obviously an impossibility.

"By now I'm pretty sure that they've either convinced Gray to go with them or knocked him out and took him with them." Mira finished.

She waited for a few seconds to see Erza's reaction, and again to her surprise the redhead said nothing. That, however, only lasted for a few seconds which was then followed up by said wizard grabbing a nearby wooden mug and snapping it into a hundred tiny pieces within the palm of her armored hand.

'_Now that's what I expected… I mean, her anger issues aren't good, but still that's about what I expected._' Mira thought, sweatdropping slightly.

"I may very well kill that idiot for doing something so foolish, and Gray may share in his fate if he decided to go along with it. I'll deal with Lucy and Ichigo when I find them, but rest assured I shall take great pleasure in dragging them back here by force." Erza stated before walking off.

"Good luck… also don't actually kill them!" Mira shouted, ending on a more serious note. Her parting words seemed to fall on deaf ears, unfortunately. She just dearly hoped it was just Erza's unimaginable anger talking when she claimed that would be the case.

'_No… she's more rational than that… I think._' Mira thought.

_**Galuna Island: Shoreline **_

Natsu awakened to the unfamiliar feel of beneath his body. Slowly, he picked up his upper body and began to observe his surroundings. All he could really see, however, were trees, water, and sand. At the very least he knew they were one the island.

"Natsu, are you awake?" Lucy called out from nearby.

The pink-haired wizard completely got up from the ground and turned to face the celestial mage who had opted to accompany him. She looked to be in good enough shape, which was good considering the last thing he remembered was her fearful scream.

"Yeah, I'm awake. How'd we get here anyway?" Natsu asked confusedly.

"You don't remember?" Lucy asked with a raised brow.

"Don't be too surprised. He was so out of it cuz' of his motion sickness that I'm surprised he's even awake right now." Gray commented.

Both Natsu and Lucy then turned to look at the raven-haired teen, taking note that he was both fine and also untied. For some reason he also had no clothing on outside of his underwear, but given that it was possible they were swept ashore by a large wave that could be overlooked, for once.

"Who untied you?" Natsu inquired.

"That's the first thing you say to me?!" Gray roared angrily.

"Calm down you two. Anyway, Natsu, to answer your question we were taken to the shore by Ichigo. He used that weird disappearing technique thing… I can't remember what it was called. When we got to shore, you were out cold, so he said we should just stay put." Lucy explained.

"As for who untied me, I don't know. It happened when I was asleep, I just assume it was Ichigo since Lucy decided to pass out after Ichigo said we should just stay here." Gray added.

"Where is he anyway?" Natsu asked, taking note that the substitute was nowhere to be seen.

"He's over there sleeping against that tree!" Happy chirped, having walked up to the group as they were conversing.

"Hey there little buddy. Glad to see you're alright… now can ya do me a favor and go wake up Ichigo for me?" Natsu said with a small smile.

"I'm a cat Natsu, but even I'm still nowhere near dumb enough to fall for that." Happy countered.

"Alright… then Gray, can you wake him up?" Natsu asked, angering the raven-haired teen with his dual-purposed joke and insult.

"Alright flame brain, let's go! I'm gonna enjoy beating you into a…" Gray began, only to be cut off.

"Would you two calm down? I'm awake and we've got work to do." Ichigo said tiredly as he picked himself up and dusted off his pants. Sleeping on a beach was less than preferable, but still it wasn't anywhere near as horrible as sleeping on the floor of Natsu's home.

"Forget that, let's go exploring!" Natsu stated cheerfully.

"Aye." Happy chirped in agreement.

"Hell no! If we're breaking the damn rules in the first place then the mission comes first." Ichigo exclaimed.

"Count me in too." Gray stated, drawing a confused look from the other members of the group.

"What makes you think we need your help?" Natsu sneered.

"You basically kidnapped me and dragged me to this place. If I'm here I might as well get some experience and help ya out a little. Just be grateful I ain't leavin' to make sure Erza comes here to drag you back in a body basket." Gray replied.

"Fair enough…" Natsu conceded, obviously knowing his demise at the redhead's hands was a distinct possibility.

"Anyway, we need to find the village as soon as we can. I remember hearing noises off from this direction, so that's our best bet." Ichigo stated, gesturing a finger out into the woods as a point of reference.

"Sounds good to me." Lucy replied, after which they began to walk off.

_**Forests of Galuna Island, Some Time Later…**_

"When are we supposed to get to that village again?" Lucy asked tiredly.

Thus far most of the day had gone by without any progress. It had been slowed down repeatedly due to Natsu and Gray coming at odds with one another, and then there was also the fact that Lucy needed to rest every so often.

On top of that, Natsu occasionally got motion sickness when traveling up steep slopes and just about every other mile Gray happened to lose his clothes. Needless to say, it wasn't exactly a quick and easy trip thus far.

Happy, ironically enough, kept a cheerful expression and didn't complain in the slightest thereby making him the least cause for annoyance on Ichigo's part. The feline did, however, act in unison with Natsu in the effort of antagonizing a certain ice mage, but still he was likely the least troublesome of the three.

'_These three wouldn't last a second in Huceo Mundo._' Ichigo thought.

"Just bear with it for a little bit more? It's almost dark anyway, so regardless we're probably going to be stopping soon." Ichigo stated, eliciting a nod of understanding from the blonde-haired teen.

"We'd be there faster if the stripper didn't lose his clothes every two seconds." Natsu growled out, giving a sideways glare towards the wizard he had been referring to.

"Oh yeah, well what about your stupid motion sickness ya fire breathing moron?!" Gray countered.

"I swear if you two start to fight one more time I'm knocking you both out and dragging you to the village." Ichigo threatened.

"Could you do that anyway? It'd sure end up being quieter…" Lucy commented.

"Blame him!" Natsu and Gray shouted in unison, pointing to one another as they did so.

"What'd I just say?!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Look Natsu, I see fire!" Happy stated in an upbeat tone, pointing off into the distance.

Everyone present looked where the blue-furred cat had directed, each seeing a glow that was characteristic of fire. It didn't appear to be all that far off, which was fantastic news given that there was only supposed to be a single village on the entire island.

"Well what're we waitin' for? Let's go!" Natsu shouted, after which he ran off with Happy flying at his side.

"Wait, don't run into the village before we… dammit, why can't you stay still and listen for once?!" Ichigo shouted before he ran off after the dragon slayer.

The remaining two just looked at one another and shrugged, subsequently after which they followed suit and began to rush after their fellow guild members without delay.

_**Outside the Village, Some Time Later…**_

"See, I told you it was fire!" Happy stated proudly as he and Natsu came up to the large wooden barrier that surrounded the village.

Atop the gate was a small fire that allowed the gatekeeper to see below. Currently he appeared to be asleep, but nevertheless the village itself was directly in front of them.

"Dammit Natsu, I said to wait!" Ichigo exclaimed as he came running through the forests, stopping directly next to the pink-haired teen.

"Sorry, didn't hear you." Natsu replied in his usual tone of voice.

"Whatever… anyway, I was going to say you should be careful just in case it wasn't really the village since we really don't know what to expect on this island. But I guess it doesn't matter since this is actually the village." Ichigo reasoned.

"See, everything worked out alright." Natsu stated.

"Why didn't you guys wait up?" Lucy asked as she and the final member of their party joined the two. Well, three if you counted Happy.

"You asked us to wait up?" Natsu asked confusedly, earning a small glare from the blonde due to the stupidity of his question.

"Natsu, I swear I'm gonna…" Lucy began.

"Hey, any of you guys notice the big sign that says 'Keep Out'?" Gray cut in.

Each turned to look at the center of the wooden gate, seeing the very sign the ice make user had been referring to. However, the village itself seemed deathly quiet, as if no one was actually in it. That didn't seem to be the case though as there was still the single sentry that kept watch over the gate, though currently he did no such thing as he was sleeping.

"Yeah, but they asked for our help so I assume it's probably just for protection. All we have to do now is wake up that guard." Lucy reasoned, after which she began to tap her chin in thought as if to illustrate she was going over what they could do.

"I've got it." Ichigo stated.

A moment later he threw a pebble-sized rock directly at the man's helmet, hitting it dead on and successfully starting him a great degree. The sentry then began to look around confusedly, not even taking notice of the technical intruders that were just outside the gate where he really should have been looking in the first place.

"I'm gonna have to try waking you up that way." Natsu said with a chuckle, a grin etched on his face.

"If you ever do wake me up that way then I'll just _consciously_ throw you into a wall." Ichigo stated, glaring lightly given that he wouldn't put it past the dragon slayer to do something like that.

"Geez, I was only kidding." Natsu replied defensively.

"No you weren't." Happy commented.

"Quiet you." Natsu said in a whisper.

"Hey! We're down here!" Lucy shouted, successfully getting the guard's attention.

"Halt intruder! Who goes there?!" The man shouted back.

"We're wizards from Fairy Tail. We're here to help you." Ichigo replied, raising his voice so as to allow the gatekeeper to hear his voice.

"Fairy Tail? Can you show me your emblems as proof?" The man requested.

Each of the Fairy Tail members revealed their guild marks simultaneously, after which the guard seemed to gain an overjoyed expression. Without a moments delay he opened the gates wide open, allowing the newcomers to enter the village unhindered.

"That was easy…" Natsu commented.

The group began to walk through the preliminary parts of the small underdeveloped village, seeing large amounts of people as they did so. However, each and every one of was covered from head to toe by a plain tan-colored cloak that allowed for nothing more than bits of the face to be seen.

'_Something's not right here… I'm getting the same weird vibe I did when we were with that man on our way here._' Ichigo thought.

'_This is a little weird…_' Lucy thought.

Up ahead they saw a gathering of village people, at the forefront of which was what appeared to be a short elderly man carrying a wooden staff topped by a stone carved in the shape of a half-mood.

"I am Moka the village chief and on behalf of everyone here I welcome you. Pleasantries aside, there is something you need to see… now, my people!" The man said.

All at once both the villagers and the chief dropped their cloaks and revealed their full appearance. Said appearance shocked each of the Fairy Tail members and frightened some of them to a degree, but that was to be expected given that each and every one of the men and women possessed an unnatural demonic limb.

"It's just like what happened to the boat guy." Gray reasoned.

"Everyone on the island has suffered horrible disfigurement because of this curse. Not even the animals have been spared." Moka stated.

"Excuse me sir, but have you considered that this might not be a curse? It could be some sort of infectious disease." Gray said, raising a fair point.

"We've consulted with dozens of doctors, young man, but they all agree that no such disease exists." Moka replied.

'_Still… something seems off here. This island feels really weird… and even right now my senses aren't what they should be._' Ichigo thought.

Since he had entered the island he could feel his spiritual senses and his ability to even remotely feel trace amounts of magic energy by extension dwindle severely or even outright vanish. Being right up in front of the villagers at the moment, he could feel their respective energies, but he couldn't manage to do it from the shore or even as they had approached. Normally even he had a better sensory ability than that.

'_Moreover… the type of energy they have isn't human, or at least it doesn't feel like it. Maybe it's the curse?_' Ichigo wondered.

"The symptoms occurred around the same time the moon fell under an evil spell…" Moka began, breaking the substitute out of his thoughts.

"What kind of spell?" Lucy questioned.

"Since ancient times this island has absorbed the light of the moon, causing it to glow as beautifully as the moon itself. However several years ago the moon's color began to change, casting an evil purple glow all over the island." Moka continued.

"So it caused the moon to turn purple?" Natsu though aloud.

"Look, it's coming out now!" Happy exclaimed, pointing a finger towards the sky as the purple glow began to appear.

Thus far the night had been very cloudy and the moon itself had yet to make an appearance, but the second it did there was no mistaking the eerie glow that it gave off.

"That can't be right…" Ichigo thought.

Anything turning the moon purple was absolutely ridiculous, and moreover he felt something off about the moon itself, as if it was giving off some kind of energy. No matter how many times he had looked up at the moon in this or his own world, no similar feel was ever given off. It was eerie in nature and rather ominous, the combination of which he severely loathed.

"It's the curse… stand back, the change is about to occur!" Moka warned.

"What the hell?" Gray exclaimed.

The villagers began to wail rather loudly and squirm with no indication of stopping. Their reason for doing so was quickly revealed when bit by bit their human limbs shifted into those of a demon, giving each and every one of their appearances the look of a complete demon.

'_So this is why they don't feel like their human…_' Ichigo thought, his sympathy for the villagers growing the longer he remained in their presence.

"Why is this happening to them?" Natsu wondered aloud, holding a great sense of sympathy as he was forced to watch the suffering populous.

"I'm sorry if our appearance frightens you." Moka apologized as the transformations came full circle.

"No problem… I'm just a bit confused." Gray replied, his facial expression giving credence to his words.

"You poor people…" Lucy muttered.

"Yeah, but you look so cool! You've got horns and stuff, it's totally aweso…" Natsu said excitedly, only to stop upon being hit upside the head by the orange-haired teen.

"Time and a place Natsu, time and a place." Ichigo stated upon the dragon slayer turning to him with a confused look present on his face.

"Anyway, as you've witnessed, whenever the purple moon shows its face in the sky, everyone in the village takes on a horrific demon form. If it isnt a curse… then what else could it possibly be?" Moka said urgently, tears coming to both his and the others' eyes.

"We'll return to normal when morning comes and the sun has risen. However, there are some poor souls who could not return back to their human forms because they have lost their minds. The fate for them is unfortunate, and we've had no choice but to put them to death." He continued.

"But they might turn back to normal!" Natsu countered.

"That is unfortunately not possible, once the madness grips them there is no turning back. I should know, I was forced to put my own son to death…" Moka replied, tears once again streaming down his cheeks as he presented a picture.

"Wait, but that's the guy who…" Lucy began, only to be cut off by one of her companions.

"Don't… I think I understand why that guy disappeared like that. He might've died, but his soul couldn't let go." Gray stated.

"Like a ghost?" Lucy asked fearfully.

'_No… that definitely wasn't it._' Ichigo thought.

If that had been the case then he would have been very easily capable of sensing that he was a soul. Moreover, a soul itself from a deceased body couldn't possibly contain traces of a curse that seemed to only affect a physical appearance. Things just weren't adding up, and the more he thought about it the more the entire situation bugged him.

"Will you please lift the evil curse from our island? If it isn't done soon… we will all surely die." Moka stated, desperation prominent in his voice.

"What can we do to help?" Ichigo asked, now giving off a deadly serious expression.

There may have been off about this island and he didn't really know what that was as of yet, but that wouldn't stop him from fixing these villagers. Their suffering was something he couldn't ever bring himself to turn a blind eye to, and with that in mind he no longer cared about what would happen as a result of their completing this job request.

"There is only one way for this curse to be lifted… the moon must be taken down from the sky!" Moka replied, shocking each member of the Fairy Tail guild with his answer.

_**Galuna Island: Housing in the Village, Some Time Later…**_

"Well that was interesting…" Lucy commented as the group came into the hut.

"That's one way of putting it." Ichigo replied.

"Do they really expect us to blow up the moon?" Gray questioned, looking to no one in particular for an answer.

"I could do it. I just need to know how many punches it would take." Natsu said with a determined look on his face.

"It's the moon you idiot, you couldn't fly that high if you wanted to." Ichigo stated.

It was possible in his world to venture to the moon, but even then blowing it up, physically, would cause a hell of a lot more problems than a curse that covered a single island, so even suggesting something like that was out of the question.

"Then what exactly are we supposed to do? The moon's the problem here, right?" Natsu countered.

"I don't know… but I've got a bad feeling about this island. Ever since we got here it's been bugging me. I can't sense anything outside of it, and even while we're on the island I can't sense anyone's presence unless they are nearby. Moreover, that purple moon… I can feel something emanating from it. I don't know what it is, but I am pretty sure it's a type of magical energy." Ichigo stated.

"Still, I think blowing up the moon is a bit much…" Lucy said.

"I'm not so sure the moon is the problem." Ichigo thought aloud as he prepared his makeshift bed.

"What do you mean?" Happy asked curiously.

"Think about it. The villagers turn into demons whenever the purple moon shines on them, but the moon itself wasn't always purple and it's only ever purple on this island. That tell me that something's going on that turned it purple in the first place, and all we need to do is find out what that was in order to lift the curse." Ichigo reasoned.

"Seems simple enough… we can go searching the island first thing in the mornin'!" Natsu exclaimed.

"That's probably our best bet." Gray said in agreement.

"I don't think we have any better options." Lucy commented.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

"By the way Ichigo… I've been meaning to ask you somethin'. Why did you decide to go along with this moron's idea to go on an S-Class quest? Was it for the status in the guild or something like that?" Gray questioned.

"I don't really care about becoming an S-Class wizard at this point and even the money doesn't really mean anything to me. In fact, if it came down to it I'd do this job for free without the consent of the guild. The reason is because these people are suffering, and I can't overlook that. Rules might be important overall, but they don't matter if lives are at stake." Ichigo replied.

"I see… I kinda figured you'd say something like that. Still I hope it's worth it, because Erza's gonna be coming for all of our hides pretty soon." Gray mused, paling slightly as he finished.

"Again, I don't see why you're all so afraid of her…" Ichigo trailed off.

**A/N Just a quick reminder that the next chapter will be posted next Friday, that's all. **

_**Explanations**_:

**What does Ichigo think of the Island?**: He's skeptical because of many factors involved in the "curse" coupled with the fact that he can't sense anything unless its right in front of him on the island. I can guess you all can figure out why that is, but it will play a critical role in his understanding of what is actually going on in the future.

_**Reviews**_:

**Krazyfanfiction1**: Not very likely.

**Frosting Flames**: That arc is conservatively around 12 chapters away.

**christian. **: Maybe… ;P

**Pokemaster94**: Hmm…. I highly doubt it, but then again your question is difficult to answer as things currently stand xD. It isn't necessarily _impossible_ but still…

**DemonsAnarchy**: Ichigo didn't know prior and when he found out it became something he couldn't ignore. Keep in mind that I utilize a writing tool known as dramatic irony a good bit, meaning that often times the reader will know something that some of the characters simply do not.

**Monkeybutt98**: The name is just a bar-code xD, and also thank you!

**Oni X-Wolf**: I see where you're coming from with the powers not being usable in the human body, but rest assured I do have a fix for it that's pretty easy to just write in at some point. It won't show up that soon, however.

**G3neSyS**: I never said I wasn't going to bring him back somehow ;P

**HurricaneGohan94**: I might find a creative way or two of having his skillset improve, but this story isn't really focused on his progression, mainly because for a long time there won't really be an enemy that is strong enough for him to _need_ a power up. I see what you are saying, though.

**Antex-The Legendary Zoroark**: How this all turns out will reveal the answer to that question ;)

**Dp11**: There will be a good bit of communication between the two, but as you can probably guess how they act towards one another will be very, _very_ complicated as time moves on.

**ultima-owner**: Even if you were correct, I wouldn't answer that question for obvious reasons xD

**GirlFish**: Will he mention hell, no, not at all, because there isn't really a point in doing so. The body swap thing? Meh, it doesn't hurt to say that it will be in this story because I like to write funny stuff from time to time.

**Hotstreak's crossover stories**: Only time will tell.

**hmbertorojo96**: The killer intent thing wasn't really a huge theme in Bleach outside of Ichigo's initial training, and since I don't intend to have the Fairy Tail members train for a good bit of this story I have to say even if something like that was to show up it wouldn't be for a long time.

**x-05-x**: Nope.

**Zaralann**: For each of you're questions, I can't say xD

**Fairy Tail fan**: If by that you mean will they fight together against Phantom, technically yeah.

**Exanime Draco**: She warmed up to him primarily because he isn't afraid of her and recognizes why she acts the way she does and why she fights. I tried to imply that slightly, but nevertheless I hope this clarifies things.

**NateTheGrandMaster**: It is IchigoxTwoFemales, maybe a third somewhere down the road, and I am keeping the pairing under wraps for the time being.


	16. The Moon Drip

**A/N Here's the next chapter, and the next one will be posted on next Friday as I still have exams and such early next week. **

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 16 **

_**Galuna Island: Outside the Village, The Next Morning…**_

"Alright, let's go you guys!" Lucy said energetically, a determined expression marking her features.

The group of Fairy Tail members had gathered outside the gates of the village rather early in the morning, hoping to get a head start on their quest to lift the curse in a manner that didn't involve destroying the moon.

Currently, however, only Lucy and Ichigo were awake and ready to go, the substitute currently residing in his soul form since it didn't make any logistical sense to carry his body around in such conditions. Natsu, Gray, and Happy, had extremely tired looks about them and that was excluding the heavy look in their eyes, as if they were struggling to keep them open.

"Why are you so loud? It's too early to say things like that…" Natsu groaned.

"Well you two kept me up with your snoring last night and I'm not complaining! Now let's move!" Lucy exclaimed.

"How is it that you three are struggling to stay awake right now?" Ichigo questioned, looking towards the two teens and accompanying cat for an answer.

"I'm just usually never up this early." Gray answered, yawning as he finished.

"Ditto." Natsu and Happy said in unison, sounding rather tired in their reply.

Ichigo just shrugged before turning to face the blonde-haired celestial mage, at which point he took not that she wasn't as she had previously been. Currently, Lucy sat within the spirit of the clock constellation Horologium, which caused the substitute to release a tired sigh.

"That guy again?" Ichigo asked rhetorically.

"It's too humid outside and my hair would be ruined, she states defensively." Horologium replied.

"Whatever… anyway, let's go you three, our only real option is to walk around and hope for the best at this point. I've got a feeling we'll eventually stumble onto something." Ichigo said.

"You really think we'll be able to find something else to break the curse?" Gray inquired curiously as the group began to walk.

"I have absolutely no idea, but that shouldn't stop us from trying to find something." Ichigo replied.

"Yeah, I mean we can't just blow up the moon, that'd be crazy." Gray stated.

"You're just realizing that now, she asks tiredly." Horologium said.

"It is true though. I mean if we didn't have the moon then all kinds of stuff would go crazy!" Natsu exclaimed.

"This from the person who asked how many punches it would take?" Ichigo thought aloud.

"But we still have no idea what we're up against and if I'm being honest I'm… I'm scared." Lucy stated nervously from within the clock spirit, who relayed her words a second later.

"Are you kiddin'? This is awesome! S-Class quests rule!" Natsu exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah, I could probably freeze that stupid curse." Gray commented cockily.

"You might wanna unfreeze your brain first, Gray. Also, you might want to be a bit more on guard, Natsu. This island isn't a joke, and I remember the village chief saying the animals were affected as well, which means that we can't assume this mission will be a cakewalk." Ichigo stated.

"Aye." Happy commented quietly.

"Relax Ichigo, what's the worst that could happen?" Natsu asked rhetorically.

As it often always did whenever someone raised that particular question, something bad happened. Off from inside a nearby collection of trees, a large creature began to stir, shaking the nearby ground in its wake. None of them could see it at the moment, but even so it was presumably massive.

"What's that?" Gray asked, looking off at the direction the sounds were coming from.

A massive creature soon reared its ugly face out from atop the trees, giving off the appearance of a giant rat clothed, oddly enough, in bits of a maid's uniform. It had a glint in its eyes, and gave off a clear intent of devouring or at the very least killing the prey it currently saw.

"Why'd you open your big mouth, she asks angrily." Horologium said.

"Whoa, that's things huge!" Gray exclaimed.

"Don't just stand there, beat it up you guys, she shouts urgently." Horologium stated.

"I got this…" Gray said, bringing back both of his hands and taking on the stance he traditionally did before casting his particular brand of magic.

The giant rat took in a deep breath of air, giving off the impression it was about to perform some kind of attack. Seeing this, Gray opted to air on the side of caution in favor of protecting the group.

"Ice Make Shield." Gray uttered, pounding his two combined hands into the ground.

A large shield made of ice formed directly in front of him and the rest of his comrades. Sadly, the shield proved useless in defense of the rat's intended attack.

The large rodent released its breath a moment later, coating the entirety of the nearby area with a large amount of rancid-smelling gas that instantly caused everyone present to hack and cough uncontrollably due to its vile nature.

"Holy crap that's rank!" Natsu shouted, holding his nose so hard that it hurt. Even so, the smell still unfortunately reached his senses and caused him to roll helplessly on the ground. A strong sense of smell did have its drawbacks in these types of scenarios.

In the wake of the rancid smell, Horologium vanished, unable to take it anymore, which was subsequently followed by Lucy being exposed to the horrid odor as well. As was to be expected, she took it quite poorly just as the others.

An instant later, however, the rancid gas was cleared away by a very powerful gust of wind. Each of the Fairy Tail wizards was so relieved that they ignored the source of the gust, but momentarily after their collective recovery they turned to see Ichigo with his sword drawn and his form giving off the impression that he had just swung it.

"That's enough of that." Ichigo stated, the smell having bothered him a high degree as well.

"Thanks for that." Gray said honestly, clearing his throat a moment later so as to rid his senses of any residual effects of the gas.

"It's gonna do it again! Someone stop it!" Natsu begged, having practically been knocked out the first time the rodent had released the toxic odor.

"Like hell I'm putting up with that smell again." Ichigo said in an annoyed tone before deciding to take action.

The orange-haired teen used flash step to appear directly on the rat's midsection, after which he sent his left fist flying directly into its gut. The effect was exactly what one would have expected, and that was the overgrown vermin flying very quickly across the nearby section of trees.

A large portion of the nearby woods was torn down since it was just so massive, but the creature appeared to be knocked out, and the odor hadn't reared its ugly head again so all in all it was completely necessary.

"Stupid rat." Ichigo scoffed as he floated back down towards the ground.

"Nice job." Natsu commented with a happy, if not relieved, grin.

"Thanks, but we should probably get moving. I didn't kill it and something tells me we don't want to be near that thing when it wakes up." Ichigo stated.

"Hey you guys, look over there." Lucy said urgently, pointing in the direction of the recently cleared trees.

Each member of the group turned to see a large stone temple with the insignia of a half-moon placed atop its entrance. It actually appeared that the large creature had been guarding it, or at the very least roaming around it, which was all the more reason to investigate.

"That looks like some kind of temple." Natsu stated.

"Aye." Happy said in agreement.

"Look at that symbol. You think that maybe it has something to do with the purple moon?" Gray questioned.

"Don't know, but we're going to find out. Come on, let's go check it out." Ichigo said, after which he and the others walked towards the temple.

_**Inside the Temple…**_

"Whoa, this place is massive!" Lucy said in an impressed tone.

The inside of the temple was in complete tatters, the stones and columns being all but completely destroyed. However, that didn't change the fact that it was very large in scale. Whoever constructed it definitely built it to last for a very long time, which turned out to be the case if its aged appearance was anything to go by.

"Yeah, but its fallin' apart." Natsu commented.

"I wonder how old it is." Gray thought aloud.

"The village leader did say that since ancient times the moon's energy was collected. Maybe this temple has something to do with it. Still, it looks abandoned so I doubt we'll find anyone who can explain what this place is." Ichigo stated.

"Well, all the symbols of the moon on these walls definitely back up that line of thinking. We should probably look around and see what we can find." Lucy reasoned.

"I don't know if it's all that safe. I mean, this floor doesn't even look like it's safe to walk on." Natsu said.

The dragon slayer began to tap the stone floor of the temple a little bit too roughly with his foot. Ichigo, noticing this, made to say something, but it was sadly too late.

A moment later the floor collapsed entirely, causing each of the group members to enter a state of free fall down a long section of cave towards a very hard rocky surface.

"Natsu, you idiot!" Gray shouted as they continued to fall.

"Hang on you guys, grab ahold of me!" Ichigo said quickly and decisively.

Knowing the Substitute Soul Reaper's ability to transport people a great distance in little time, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and even Happy grabbed on to one of his limbs. When this was done, it took but one single flash step for Ichigo to transport the group directly over a less jagged portion of the cave's floor.

They still hit the ground in a less than graceful manner given their position prior to the use of flash step, but they were less likely to be injured this way than if they were left to fall into the rubble of the floor Natsu had recently destroyed.

"Is everyone okay?" Ichigo asked, looking as his comrades picked themselves up.

"We would be even better if Natsu hadn't blown out the floor." Lucy stated, glaring at the dragon slayer as she spoke.

"You should think before you speak ya flame-brained moron!" Gray exclaimed.

"It worked out okay, didn't it?" Natsu countered.

"Except for the fact that we're underneath the temple." Lucy said in an annoyed tone.

"Aye." Happy said, looking up at the large hole they had fallen through.

The substitute, however, knew very well he could get everyone back up to the temple if he took them one at a time through his ability to 'fly'. All he needed to do was inform them and the problem was solved. Once that was done, perhaps they could continue with their investigation, provided a certain pink-haired wizard decided not to break the floor beneath their feet anymore.

"I don't know… I think I could…" Ichigo began, only to be cut off.

"This is great, a secret cavern is so cool!" Natsu said excitedly, after which he ran off into a nearby passageway.

"Can you go two minutes without running off like a crazy person?!" Gray shouted.

"Get back here Natsu!" Ichigo exclaimed, after which he and the others ran after the overjoyed dragon slayer.

_**Down the Passageway**_

"Natsu, I said wait dammit!" Ichigo shouted.

For someone who couldn't handle transportation so well, Natsu was exceptionally fast. It struck him as ironic, but maybe it was just a bit of a balancing mechanism by whomever it was that gave people their personal abilities.

"Whoa…" Natsu said in an awestruck tone.

Ichigo and the others heard the dragon slayers voice and an instant later they turned the coming corner and saw that he had stopped dead in his tracks and currently stood in place staring directly at his front.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked as they slowly walked up.

"Is something wrong?" Gray questioned in a voice of slight concern.

"Hey guys… what's that?" Natsu inquired, his vision still not shifting from whatever it was that he was looking at.

Everyone then walked out onto into the large section of the cave and instantly saw what the pink-haired teen had been staring at. Before their very eyes was a massive demonic-looking creature encased in a large shield of ice.

'_What the hell is that thing doing here? I think it's some kind of demon, but if that's the case then does it have something to do with the curse?_' Ichigo wondered.

Moreover, the vibe that he sensed coming off of it was something he never expected to feel, and it wasn't because it was different, rather it was because he had felt this very kind of energy, or very close to it, coming off of spirits in his world. Whether that was because of the creature within or because of something else entirely, he didn't know, but in any case he could safely assume that something about this demon being present on the island was off.

"That's impossible…" Gray trailed off in a shaken voice.

Most all of those present were shocked at the sight of the encased monster, but Gray looked visibly disturbed more so than anyone else. His pupils were shaking, slight amounts of sweat dripped from his brow, and his skin paled. However, the only one who seemed to pick up on this was Ichigo as he happened to be the first to recover from seeing the massive demon.

He'd definitely seen far more frightening things in his day, which at this point allowed him to build up a bit of immunity for the sight of beings like this. This demon, while terrifying in its own right, had nothing on the some of the monstrosities he had faced.

"It's Deliora… but that's impossible!" Gray stated in a shocked tone as he began to walk towards the ice that imprisoned the beast.

'_He knows what this thing is?_' Ichigo thought. He assumed that the raven-haired wizard had known something about it, but the way he spoke coupled with his reaction now gave him the impression that he had experienced this terrible creature firsthand.

"How… how could this happen? Why is it here? What the hell is it doing on Galuna Island?!" Gray asked frantically, his feared disposition not changing as he spoke.

"You've seen this thing before?" Natsu asked confusedly.

"It just can't be… it just…" Gray began.

The ice make user was silenced upon a hand courtesy of Lucy being placed on his shoulder. It was very obvious to everyone, including himself, that Gray was in no condition to think rationally.

"Gray, please calm down." Lucy said in a low comforting tone, prompting the raven-haired teen to take several deep breaths of air to calm himself.

"This thing… its Deliora, the demon of destruction." Gray began.

"Demon of construction?" Natsu uttered, earning a slap on the back of the head from his orange-haired friend.

"Destruction." Happy corrected.

"But why is it here?" Ichigo wondered aloud.

Before anyone could say another word on the subject, several footsteps could be heard from down a nearby passageway. Hearing this instantly caused the Fairy Tail wizards to hide behind a nearby rock formation, deciding to air on the side of caution given that they didn't know what could be coming their way.

Two men came out of the cavern a moment later, each having a very distinct appearance. One was a short, slim young man with blue hair and black square eyebrows. He wore what appeared to be a green robe-like garment overtop a pair black pants.

The short man was accompanied by a rather tall somewhat-muscular individual with shoulder-length, straight brown hair who appeared to be a man himself, though of what species was difficult to tell. He had a pair of canine ears sitting on his head, a small, dark nose, and a lower face that was of a different color than the rest of his body. The only article of clothing the canine-like man seemed to wear was a pair of blue jeans and an accompanying belt.

"The voices seemed to come down from here… I hate being awake during the day." The shorter man stated.

"So, Toby, were you exposed to the Moon Drip? You've got those pointy ears…" The man said jokingly, aggravating his companion.

"I already told you, they're a fashion statement you jerk! Why can't you ever be nice, Yuka?!" Toby shouted.

"Calm down, I was only joking." The now named Yuka replied calmly.

"Ya don't have to be so mean about it…" Toby said in a low voice.

"Those two said Moon Drip… could that be the name of the curse?" Lucy wondered aloud.

"He did say it in reference to those weird ears, so maybe it is." Ichigo reasoned.

Anything they would have said was cut short upon the arrival of another individual, though this time it was a woman who entered via the very same cavern. She was a pink-haired woman with pigtails, blue eyes, large breasts, and a curvaceous body. She chose to wear a short, pink dress, black leggings, and high-heeled sandals.

"Toby, Yuka, something terrible has happened…" The woman said in a saddened tone.

"What now Sherry?" Yuka asked in an annoyed tone while his other companion greeted the woman with a friendly wave.

"It's Angelica, she's been attacked and I'm sad." Sherry replied.

"You're moping around because someone attacked your stupid pet rat?!" Toby exclaimed.

"That thing was her _pet_?" Ichigo wondered aloud.

"What a weird chick…" Lucy commented.

"Look who's talking." Happy said.

"What'd you say?" Lucy asked in a low threatening tone, glaring heavily at the blue-haired cat.

"She's not a rat… she's a brave hunter prowling the jungle to protect us. She is… love…" Sherry stated.

"Nope, Lucy's right on this one. That girl is completely nuts." Ichigo said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, and judging by the scent I picked off 'em they're not from the island." Natsu stated.

"And they don't look like they have the demon curse." Happy commented.

"Intruders you say?" Yuka asked, breaking up the conversation that was happening unbeknownst to his current company.

"Yes, and it's almost time to collect moonlight again." Sherry replied.

'_Collecting moonlight? That has to be what the Mood Drip is… but why the hell would they do that in the first place? Moreover, why are they not being affected by the curse?_' Ichigo wondered.

"That makes me sad… this news would displease the Cold Emperor. We should get rid of them before he finds out. Yes… we must find them before the moon's first light." Sherry stated.

"Agreed." Yuka said, a sickening grin not coming onto his features.

The sound of a rock being tosses down a nearby cavern caught their attention, after which each ran towards the source of the sound, leaving the Fairy Tail wizards alone in the demon's resting place.

"Good job Happy." Lucy said as she and the others came out of their hiding place.

"Umhmm." Happy replied, giving a nod as confirmation he accepted the blonde's praise.

"I still say we should've grabbed them and beat some answer out of 'em." Natsu stated.

"Normally I'd agree, but that might not have worked. We also don't know what they're doing here and how it relates to this Deliora thing. But if my guess is correct then we'll know what they want when the moon finally comes out." Ichigo said.

"Still, I don't know what anyone would want with Deliora in the first place." Gray stated.

"You seem to know a lot about this thing. Mind telling us what you know?" Ichigo asked.

"Alright… Deliora was trapped around a decade ago after it rampaged across a series of villages…" Gray began.

The raven-haired teen explained that Deliora had been trapped in ice as well as how it had happened in the first place. Evidently, his master Ur had given up everything, even her life to seal it away for good. How this happened, he didn't say, but telling the story of the demon's encasement was had definitely angered the ice mage a great deal.

"She sacrificed everything to seal it away… I don't know if it has anything to do with the curse on this island, but I do know that it doesn't belong here. This Cold Emperor… I don't care who he is, but if he tries to tarnish my master's legacy, then I'll make him regret the day he was born!" Gray exclaimed, the makings of his ice magic forming in his right hand due to his rage.

"Calm down." Ichigo said firmly, placing a hand on the wizard's shoulder.

He, more than anyone, understood the desire to get revenge on something that took away the life of someone precious. For him it was Grand Fisher, for Gray it was obviously Deliora. While the ice magic user was not at all likely to be capable of defeating the demon itself, he could very easily prevent anyone from using it in any way.

"Yeah, don't worry. If it comes down to it then all we do is find this Cold Emperor guy and kick his ass." Natsu assured, a grin present on his face.

_**Cavern Beneath the Temple of the Moon, Some Time Later…**_

Since discovering the cavern and overhearing the conversation had by those that were deemed not to be the natives, the Fairy Tail members had opted to wait it out and see what exactly the Mood Drip was. Very clearly it had something to do with Deliora, and perhaps the curse, but one way or another this odd series of happenings was too odd to ignore.

The group had sat in practical silence for some time, no one saying a thing in the presence of such a colossal demon, though the demon itself was not the reason for the silence.

Most of the reason came from the emotional turmoil that currently afflicted a certain ice make user as a result of seeing the creature that had cost him so much in the past. That was perfectly understandable though, especially given that his master, the person he likely trusted more than anyone else, had given her life to trap in.

The teen's mood had been upset and saddened at best, at worst he was borderline depressed at the memory of his former master. If pained Ichigo a great deal to see someone he considered to be a friend like this. It was the exact same look of loss he had for a long time after losing his mother.

'_His master, Ur… she must've been a hell of a person. Still, I know he doesn't want to talk about it right now. I've been in that position far too many times to not have a sense of what he's feeling._' Ichigo thought.

"I know I agreed to wait, but this is still too much…" Lucy sighed out.

Currently, Natsu slept directly in front of her in a very peaceful manner, though in all honestly she wished she were able to do so. At the moment, however, she was far too nervous.

"Aye." Happy commented.

"Oh I know!" Lucy stated in a moment of realization.

"Huh?" Happy uttered, seeing the blonde grab one of her gate keys.

"Open, Gate of the Harp Constellation, Lyra!" Lucy shouted.

From the world of the celestial spirits, the called being came forth. Lyra had the appearance of a young girl, having waist length strawberry-blonde hair and black eyes. She wore a pink bonnet on the top of her head, and a long blue dress with heart prints by her waist. The most noticeable thing about her, however, was the harp that was strapped across her back.

"Oh hey Lucy, I haven't seen you in forever!" Lyra chirped in a friendly manner.

"Hey Lrya." Lucy greeted, smiling at the sight of the female spirit.

"Say, how come you never call me anymore? It's not fair. I would love to help you out, but you ignore me, meanie." Lyra said, a smile on her face all the while.

"Meanie, huh? You're the one who told me you were only available three days a month." Lucy countered, surprising the spirit.

"Are you sure about that?" Lyra asked confusedly, scratching her head given that she was sure she hadn't said only three days.

"Um, Lucy… why did you call that spirit here?" Ichigo asked confusedly.

"Oh wow, your hair is really nice! I love the color! I try to get mine to be orange but I just can't get it to be that shade. What's your secret?" Lyra asked in a cheerful tone, though her series of compliments and questions greatly annoyed the orange-haired teen.

"It's my natural color, I don't have a secret. Also I will warn you not to say you don't believe that because then you'll just make me repeat myself and then I'll just get pissed off." Ichigo replied, trying to maintain a calm tone.

"Okay… well someone's grumpy. Anyway, are there any requests?" Lyra asked, a smile still etched onto her face.

"Nope, just play what you feel like." Lucy permitted.

"Can you sing one about fish?" Happy requested.

"Okay, I've got a song that I think will knock your socks off Lucy!" Lyra exclaimed in a cheerful voice.

"Lyra has the most beautiful singing voice." Lucy commented.

"Yeah, well Mira's a singer too and she sings songs about fish for me." Happy said in a tone of mild contempt.

"Mira's a singer?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"Yup, and she's really good too!" Happy replied.

The substitute was about to speak once again, but the harp of the spirit began to play and caused him to be silent for the moment. Once she began to sing, however, that was when he didn't want to speak simply so that he could hear the wonderful voice more clearly.

Ichigo wasn't necessarily a fan of music or singing in general, though he didn't particularly mind it. However, the voice of this spirit was really something else. In fact, he could feel her voice call out memories and images inside his head. Almost on instinct, he shut his eyes and allowed them to flow freely through his mind.

Rather cheerful images of his sisters, of his times with his friends, both human and Soul Reaper, all passed through at what seemed like all at once. It didn't depress him in the slightest, in fact on some level he wished it would never stop. In fact, it was much the same for the others as well, though each experienced something different in their own right.

However, off in the corner of the cave was someone who didn't quite experience any happy memories. Well, perhaps they were happy, but at this current moment in time they were sadder than anything else. As a result of this, he began to sob, tears openly falling from his eyes as a result of the spirit's music.

"Gray? What's wrong?" Lucy asked, prompting the spirit to stop her singing and accompanying harp-playing.

"I-it's nothing, I'm fine." Gray replied, a deep sense of sadness in his voice as he did so.

"You seem upset." Happy commented.

"Well one of Lyra's talents is to bring out what people are feeling." Lucy stated.

"Is that why you cried?" Happy asked.

"I wasn't crying." Gray stated.

They were about to continue the conversation, but they stopped when Ichigo stepped up and began to walk towards the saddened wizard. The substitute took a seat directly next to him a moment later, his eyes not looking towards his friend but rather being directed towards the caged demon before them.

"Gray, what you're going through… I understand the pain you feel of losing a loved one. But for what it's worth, your master would be proud of who you became. You're a Fairy Tail wizard who looks out for his fellow guild members, for his family. More importantly though, your strong enough to take down this Cold Emperor guy and stop him from doing whatever the hell he intends to do with Deliora." Ichigo stated, drawing a surprised look from the black-haired ice mage.

"I… I don't know what to say. Thanks, Ichigo… I know you're right… but it's still hard remembering what happened." Gray replied.

"It always will be, Gray, it always will be. Still, her dying isn't something you can't change… no matter how hard you try, no matter how strong you get, you can never change the past. Trust me when I say I know the feeling." Ichigo said before getting up.

The orange-haired teen walked off a moment later, deciding to lean against a nearby rock formation given that the moon should have been up anytime now. He, however, drew the surprised glance of each of his friends present. Each of them took note of what he had just said, but only two of them knew what he could have been alluding to.

'_Was he… was he talking about his mother?_' Natsu wondered, having woken up as a result of the substitute's words. He had been awake for some time, but resting your eyes never hurt anyone.

"Ichigo, what…" Happy began, only to be cut off by the appearance of an unforeseen energy.

A magical seal appeared on the ceiling of the cavern, appearing directly on top of the large demon's ice prison. Little bits of purple energy surrounded by an eerie purple light began to descend, making contact with the ice in a continuous beam.

"It's shining on Deliora." Gray observed.

"That can't be a coincidence." Ichigo stated.

"Then we should find out where it's comin' from." Natsu reasoned.

Everyone nodded in agreement, after which they ran off to see exactly where the source of the purple light was located. Presumably it was at the apex of the temple, and that's just where they intended to go.

_**Top of the Temple of the Moon, Some Time Later…**_

A circle of individuals wearing the exact same purple robes began to mutter an incantation beneath a large half-moon stone sculpture that surrounded the hole above Deliora's resting place. They gave off the appearance of a dark cult, plain and simple.

"What're they doing?" Natsu asked quietly as the group hid behind a nearby pile stone wall.

"I'm not sure, but I think they're casting some kind of spell to capture the moonlight." Ichigo stated.

"But then why are they shining it on Deliora?" Lucy questioned.

"It's an ancient spell called the Moon Drip." Lyra began, revealing herself to have traveled with the group of Fairy Tail members.

"What are you still doing here?" Lucy asked confusedly. Clearly she was under the impression the spirit had been dismissed.

"I think I see what they're trying to do…" Lyra continued in a serious voice.

"Okay, then go ahead and fill us in." Lucy requested, no longer caring whether she had or hadn't sent the celestial spirit back to her world.

"They're using that spell to melt the ice surrounding that demon underground so they can resurrect it." Lyra explained.

"I was worried about that…" Ichigo said, glaring at the assumed cultists who continued to cast their spell. In his mind there really wasn't any other reason to shine anything on the demon.

"What? That's impossible, the ice from an Iced Shell can't be melted." Gray said, using a volume of voice that was unwise given their proximity to a group of enemies. Still, they weren't discovered so it didn't quite matter.

"I hate to say it, but that's not entirely true. The ice from an Ice Shell can be melted by the Moon Drip. The energy from the moon can break any spell." Lyra stated.

"Those idiots!" Gray exclaimed.

"I also think that what the islanders think is a curse is a side effect of the Moon Drip. Concentrated moon energy from the spell can contaminate the body, and I'm afraid the islanders have been exposed to way too much of it." Lyra continued.

'_How the hell does this spirit know so much?_' Ichigo wondered. He supposed it didn't matter as long as it worked out for them in the long run, so he didn't really dwell on it.

"I'll make 'em pay." Natsu said, pounding his fists together.

Before the dragon slayer could take any significant action, Lucy opted to elbow him in the face, effectively causing him to fall backwards and land directly on the ground with a small thud.

"Shush, someone's coming." Lucy stated.

Surely enough, an oddly dressed man did appear, being accompanied by an entourage of individuals that the observing party knew to be Sherry, Yuka, and Toby. The man that they currently followed was a fairy tall individual whose complete appearance was masked. He wore a silver horned helmet with a long red-colored fake ponytail extending from its rear. His legs were covered with armor up to his knees, and he chose to sport a white overcoat with tuffs of purple fur covering the area around his neck and shoulders.

"What a waste, I lost so much precious sleep for nothing. We searched all day for the intruders and didn't find anything." Yuka said in a bit of a melancholic tone.

"Maybe there wasn't any!" Toby countered, sounding angry for some reason.

"I'm afraid I have some sad news Cold Emperor. We thought we had intruders earlier today, but they seemed to have gotten away. I cannot speak of love in this situation." Sherry informed, using a sad tone of voice as she spoke.

"Intruders?" The masked man questioned dispassionately.

His voice was very calm if anything, but the simple sound of it caused a look of realization to dawn on Gray's face. However this time it was noticed by everyone save for Natsu, who could do nothing but glare at the form of the esteemed culprit behind the Moon Drip.

"So that's the Cold Emperor huh?" Natsu sneered.

"Has Deliora been awakened?" The Cold Emperor asked.

"It should be later tonight or tomorrow." Sherry answered.

"Then it doesn't look like we've got much time…" Ichigo whispered from off to the side, knowing full well that they'd need to take action.

"The time has almost come… if you see those intruders again, kill them. I don't want anyone getting in my way." The Cold Emperor ordered.

"They must've been villagers. No one else would be on this island." Sherry reasoned.

"Then destroy the village." He ordered in an annoyed tone, obviously having no time for such petty obstacles.

"Yes sir." The three answered immediately.

Ichigo glared heavily at the form of the masked man after hearing such callous words. If he really cared so much about resurrecting the demon, then he was completely out of control. It was either that or he truly didn't care what had to happen in order for the demon to be resurrected. Still, they currently had the advantage of not being seen, which gave them the upper hand.

"I've had enough of this sneaking around!" Natsu shouted, stepping atop the stone wall he and the others had previously hid behind.

'_So much for that…_' Ichigo thought, releasing a tired sigh. It wasn't like he needed the element of surprise, however.

"Well, guess there's no turning back now…" Lucy stated, noticing that the dragon slayer had garnered the attention of the proclaimed emperor and his lackeys.

"I wanna help too! You want me to sing?" Lyra offered.

"No, I want you to go back." Lucy replied tiredly.

"Aww, you're no fun." Lyra said, after which she vanished in a puff of smoke in a manner that was traditional of returning celestial spirits.

"Natsu, I really need to teach you about how not to do stupid things every two minutes." Ichigo chided, after which he too got up from behind the barrier and stepped forward to directly face their soon-to-be opponents.

"I recognize that guild mark… they're from Fairy Tail." Sherry observed.

"I see, so the villagers must've gone to the magical guilds for help." Yuka mused.

"Don't worry about them. Go eradicate the village." The Cold Emperor ordered.

"How can you order something like that?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Anyone who stands in my way is my enemy." He replied callously.

"What kind of answer is that?!" Natsu shouted, after which he charged the masked man.

Gray, however, beat him to the punch and currently had a bit of a head start. With his hands giving off the aura of energy they did before he cast a spell, the ice make user began to shout out of anger.

"Stop this crazy ceremony right now!" Gray shouted, after which he slammed his hands against the roof of the temple.

A large amount of ice shards sprouted forth from the ground, charging forward and forcing both the Cold Emperor and his three subordinates to leap backwards lest they be skewered.

The masked man, however, leaped backwards and began to cast a spell in order to counteract that of the raven-haired teen. With a single hand, he cast the exact same spell, which met with that of Gray's a moment later, successfully canceling the two out.

"So he uses ice magic. Guess his name isn't just for show." Ichigo mused.

"Lyon!" Gray growled out, surprising everyone else present.

"Wait, you know him?" Ichigo asked confusedly.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?" Gray questioned angrily, simultaneously ignoring the substitute's question.

"Oh Gray, it's been quite a while hasn't it." The now names Lyon thought aloud.

"Why would you of all people revive Deliora?" Gray asked.

"I wonder if you came here knowing we would meet or if this is just pure coincidence." Lyon thought aloud, ignoring his former friend's question.

"An acquaintance of yours, Cold Emperor?" Yuka guessed.

"Do as you were ordered. I can handle these intruders on my own." Lyon said sternly.

"Yes sir." They replied before vanishing in an instant.

"What, get back here!" Natsu demanded, after which he charged the Cold Emperor without delay.

"Wait Natsu, don't go near him!" Gray shouted urgently.

It was sadly too late as the dragon slayer had already fallen into the ice wizard's trap. Lyon merely extended one hand towards his opponent, shortly after which a large amount of ice surrounded his midsection and most of his lower and upper body. His head, half of his arms and feet, however, were left completely uncovered.

"Happy, get Lucy out of here." Gray ordered.

"Aye." Happy replied, after which he grabbed the blonde's backpack and flew towards the village.

"What the hell, I can't move!" Natsu exclaimed angrily.

"So… you're the guy who's trying to resurrect Deliora." Ichigo mused.

"Yes… but I don't have time to mess around with the likes of you." Lyon replied icily, after which he extended his right hand and prepared to cast a spell.

"Ice make…" Lyon began.

Before he could even do so, the orange-haired teen appeared directly in front of him and opted to slash his zanpakuto directly across the man's body. His blade did indeed make contact, but as opposed to piercing armor as he had initially expected, all it succeeded in doing was destroying an ice duplicate that had obviously been magically engineered moments prior.

"Ice Make Eagle!" Lyon exclaimed, sending a flurry of the magic-enforced aviaries at his opponent.

Ichigo vanished in the blur of flash step appearing behind the Cold Emperor before sending a kick directly at his back. Lyon, naturally, was greatly surprised by this and subsequently shot into the side of a nearby boulder, releasing a pained grunt as he did so.

'_Impossible… no one should be able to do that to me!_' Lyon thought as he dislodged his body from the boulder.

"Sorry, but it's over…" Ichigo began, aiming his sword directly at the armored man across the temple's roof.

He was about to perform a finishing move, but before he could charge the clear enemy, a hand placed itself firmly on his forearm as if to stop him from doing so. When this occurred, Ichigo directed a confused look to the owner of the limb, at which point he came to find that Gray had been the one to stop him.

'_Dammit… I… I know that look…_' Ichigo thought.

When his eyes settled on Gray's facial expression, he wanted to release an annoyed groan, but he couldn't find himself to be annoyed given that he understood perfectly. The ice make user wasn't even staring at him, he was staring directly at the man who claimed to be the Cold Emperor.

"Please… let me handle this." Gray said in a low but extremely serious voice.

The eyes he sported were those that were of a man who simply had something they needed to do, a battle they wished to fight for their own sake, and even if Ichigo was callous enough to push that aside as a person, he couldn't bring himself to do it as a warrior.

"Gray… can you handle this guy?" Ichigo asked, momentarily ignoring both his opponent and the struggles of his fire-friendly comrade.

"Yeah… leave Lyon to me." Gray said, a glare firmly fixed on the form of the Cold Emperor.

Ichigo knew very well what was going on. He may not have known the background information such as how exactly the two knew each other, but he could tell that their battle was one between rivals.

Perhaps this wasn't on the same level that required it to end in death, but still it was a battle that he had no place butting into. He would respect the right of a warrior to choose to fight on his own, even if it meant he was going to lose.

Still, at this point in time, he already knew that with Gray's mindset the outcome of the battle was already decided. Even so, defending the village came first, and he would rather get back there without any delay than stay here arguing with Gray over who would be the one to go back.

"Got it… I'll take Natsu back with me. Beat this guy, alright?" Ichigo said.

An instant later he grabbed the pink-haired teen's hand and used flash step to vanish, which incidental surprised the Cold Emperor given that he hadn't even sensed the man's presence leave.

"Your friend has an interesting ability… but even so, he will not be able to defend that village." Lyon stated matter-of-factly.

"Don't underestimate him, and don't underestimate me either, Lyon. I'm taking you down, cuz' there's no way in hell I'm letting you bring that monster back into this world!" Gray shouted.

_**Outskirts of the Village**_

"Whoa!" Natsu uttered, nearly losing his balance after having come out of Ichigo's flash step.

Oddly enough, he didn't even feel sick this time. He just assumed that the amount he had done it in the past day had allowed him to become immune to the effects of the speedy method of transportation.

"Hold still." Ichigo ordered.

The pink-haired teen didn't even have time to ask why this was asked before Ichigo punched the ice so hard that it shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. Natsu blinked several times out of confusion, after which it seemed to register that he was once gain able to move his limbs.

"Hell yeah! I'm free again!" Natsu cheered.

"Thank me later. Right now we need to get back to the village. Those three are trying to destroy it even as we speak, which means that we don't have a second to waste." Ichigo stated.

"Why didn't you take us to the village in the first place?" Natsu asked confusedly.

"Because I didn't want to go too far using flash step since you don't do well with high speed movements." Ichigo replied.

"Oh yeah… well, at this point I think I should be good. Just take the risk I guess." Natsu reasoned.

"Alright, then hold on." Ichigo stated.

The dragon slayer took the hand of the Substitute Soul Reaper, after which they were once again off. Hopefully by this point Lucy had been taken back to the village by Happy, which was likely given that they had the added benefit of a head start. Still, they wondered if the attack had started just yet.

_**The Village**_

"Okay… so at least the trap is set." Lucy thought aloud.

"This was really the best you've got?" One of the villagers asked.

"Well they'll need to come through the gate, right? So that means that this should work." Lucy replied, her logic being at least somewhat sound.

"Still, when the attackers come you will need to defeat the other two if what you've told us is true. Where are your comrades, by the way?" Moka asked.

"Um… I don't really know. They should be back soon though…" Lucy thought aloud.

As if on cue, Ichigo appeared with Natsu directly by his side a second later, taking position directly in front of the gate, orange hair and all. Lucy, in response, sighed out of pure relief. It was certainly a good thing that she wasn't fighting one against three.

"Hey wait, where's Gray?" Lucy asked.

"He…" Ichigo began, only to stop upon taking a single step forward.

Both he and Natsu took a fall down the pit that Lucy had prepared. However, only one of them hit the bottom. Shortly after he realized what was happening, Ichigo had opted to stop his fall by taking flight through the use of his own abilities. Unfortunately, he didn't have the foresight to also grab the dragon slayer's arm in an attempt to stop him from falling as well.

"Dammit… are you alight down there Natsu?" Ichigo asked.

"Why the hell is this even here?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Um… Ichigo… are you flying?" Lucy asked confusedly, staring in awe at the levitating form of the orange-haired teen.

"What? Oh, yeah, technically not, but I may as well say I am. Anyway, why is this here?" Ichigo asked, nonchalantly answering the blonde's question.

"The princess had me create it in the hopes of capturing a wizard." Virgo answered.

"You got the wrong one!" Natsu shouted as he began to climb out of the pit.

"Yeah, but I did prove it works." Lucy countered.

"Indeed, princess." Virgo said in agreement, after which she vanished given that she was no longer needed.

"Stupid hole…" Natsu griped as he finally climbed out of the large pitfall.

"To answer your question, Gray wanted to stay behind to fight that Lyon guy. It was just something he needed to do and I wasn't going to stand in his way." Ichigo replied.

There was, however, the distinct fact of the matter that could lose, in which case Ichigo knew very well he'd have to be the one to fight the Cold Emperor and defeat him. Sadly, giving Gray a single chance to take him down was the best he could do given the circumstances.

"Tch, you shoulda just gotten me out of that ice thing and fought the guy with me. We'd kick his ass easy." Natsu stated.

"It wasn't our place, Natsu. Gray needs to fight him on his own first, and then if it comes down to it I'll take him down." Ichigo replied.

"What's that?" One of the villagers exclaimed worriedly, looking up to the sky and pointing fearfully at something.

A sizeable green blob fell from the sky onto a nearby hut, after which the hut itself began to disintegrate into nothing, giving off a small trail of smoke as it did so. Shortly thereafter everyone's attention was brought towards the large flying rat in the sky and the three wizards that sat atop its back. Said oversized rodent, however, was carrying a large bucket that was presumably filled with the green ooze.

"They're here!" Lucy stated.

"That bucket's probably full of acid. If all of it drops then the city's gonna get destroyed." Ichigo said.

"Yeah right, as if we'd let that happen." Natsu proclaimed with a determined expression on his face.

"I didn't realize that the double-poison jell would take so long to prepare." Sherry thought aloud.

"It actually looks like the timing was perfect. Those wizards just got back. That Gray person seems to be missing though." Yuka commented while his dog-like companion just barked lightly in agreement.

"We cannot rest until the demon Deliora is revived for the cold emperor… Angelica, if you would do the honors." Sherry said.

The large rat did as it was asked a moment later, swinging the bucket so as to spread the acidic liquid all over the entirety of the village. If it were to connect, the entire village and everyone it in would be completely destroyed.

"Natsu, aim for the right side, I'll hit the left, we need to disperse that thing now!" Ichigo shouted urgently.

"Right… everyone get to the center of the village right now! Happy, take me up!" Natsu shouted, flaring his magic energy in preparation for what was to come.

"Aye sir!" Happy chirped, after which he grabbed ahold of his most cherished friend and did as he was asked.

"Chief get to the center of the city right now!" Lucy said, noticing the elderly village person had yet to leave the stone that signified his son's grave.

"I'm not leaving Bobo's grave." Moka said defiantly as he hugged the tombstone.

Several village people then grabbed their cherished leader and carried him off despite his many and frequent protests. With all of the villagers at the center of the city, Natsu and Ichigo went to work.

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" Natsu shouted, smashing both of his hands together and sending a large ball of pure fire energy shooting towards the incoming mass of acidic jelly.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo exclaimed, firing off a lighter version of his destructive technique so as to properly deflect the acid.

The fire created a large outward explosion upon connecting with the green substance on the right while Ichigo's trademark attack hit the left. A massive explosion sounded off due to the collusion, after which the jelly dispersed just as was intended.

Most of the village's outskirts and a good portion of the land around its center were completely destroyed, but more importantly the villagers themselves appeared to have been completely safe for the time being.

A slight side benefit of this was that the hut the Fairy Tail wizards had stayed in was located at the center of the village and was currently undestroyed, which was quite a relief for Ichigo given that his body was still located within it.

"That's just typical." Yuka commented.

"I must not have made the poisonous jelly with enough… love…" Sherry reasoned.

"Good job Natsu!" Ichigo shouted as the dragon slayer landed on the ground once more.

"Thanks, but this ain't over yet. I hope yer' ready for a fight Ichigo, cuz' it looks like we're gettin' one." Natsu stated, glaring up at the large rodent that still flew over the village, or what was left of it anyway.

A moment later the subordinates of the Cold Emperor landed on the opposite side of the village, after which they began to slowly walk towards the group that currently opposed them. The rat, however, still remained high in the sky, waiting for its master's orders before it chose to do anything else.

"Now this is a pain… we we're trying to make your deaths quick and painless. However, since the Cold Emperor has ordered us to destroy both the village and its people we really have no other choice." Sherry stated.

"Fifty villagers, three wizards, shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes." Yuka stated cockily.

"You might wanna count again…" A voice called out from atop a nearby hill.

Everyone turned to see Gray, looking worse for wear, stumbling back towards the village. How he managed to move given his current wounds was beyond anyone's understanding, but even so he was moving. It may have been a hefty bet to say that he could fight, but even so his presence was nevertheless appreciated.

'_So I was right…_' Ichigo thought with a small frown.

In the back of his mind he had a sneaking suspicion that simply became more along the lines of what he believed would happen. Said suspicion was that Gray would, in fact, be defeated by the Cold Emperor. Perhaps mindset had a good bit to do with what had transpired, but the end result wasn't something he could change.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked worriedly, noticing the somewhat severe injuries.

"I'll be fine… just let me fight." Gray stated defiantly.

"Yeah right." Natsu simply replied, after which he punched the raven-haired teen directly in his stomach.

Gray let out a quiet gasp, after which he fell to the ground, unable to move or fight for the time being. Miraculously he was still conscious, but currently he couldn't form a sentence due to his struggle to stay awake.

"Why'd you do that, he…" Lucy began.

"I'm not lettin' that moron fight in his condition. Even he should know he'd just wind up getting more injured than he already is." Natsu explained, cutting the blonde off.

Since Ichigo had said nothing on the issue Lucy just assumed that this was the right call. Besides, Natsu may have been an idiot, but when it came to fighting his mind was like a steel trap.

"That just makes it one less person to deal with. Now all we have to do is kill you before moving on to the villagers." Yuka stated uncaringly.

Though the words of the three had previously angered the Fairy Tail members a great degree, the repetitiveness with which they said them started to take their toll on a certain Substitute Soul Reaper.

A large wave of pressure began to surge around the area, its full force being directed at the Cold Emperor's subordinates. The air became thick and heavy, and they felt as if some force was pushing down on their body in an effort to slam them against the very ground of the earth.

"What is this?" Sherry exclaimed worriedly, sweat dripping from her brow as she spoke.

Each turned to look at a very angry looking teenager with a large sword strapped to his back. The air around him even seemed to be shaking in the wake of the massive force, and his eyes had a slight light-blue glow to them.

"You people… you think I'm going to let you get away with something like that?! I've had enough of your talk about killing everyone in this village just so that you can resurrect some monster for your own reasons! I don't care who you are or what you're trying to do, but I'm not letting you touch a single one of these people!" Ichigo shouted angrily.

He drew his zanpakuto a moment later, after which without a moment's hesitation he let loose a powerful swing in which he held absolutely nothing back. A large concentrated blast of wind roared across the battlefield and shot directly towards the three collective enemy wizards, cracking the ground as it relentlessly continued in its path.

The wind blast seemed to connect, though it moved around the bodies of the wizards for some reason as if a barrier of sorts had stopped it. When the small amounts of dust had settled, the blue-haired man could be seen with a surprised and worried look as he outstretched his hands.

His two comrades were much the same way, equally as shocked that such an attack had even been possible. It was clearly just brute strength, and yet it required one of Yuka's shields to be blocked. Moreover, the ground leading up to them was completely torn asunder. It was as if the earth itself bent towards the will of the man they had evidently angered.

'_Who the hell is this guy? I've never felt power like this before… is it even magic energy?_' Yuka wondered worriedly.

'_He's pissed…_' Natsu thought, smirking given that this was exactly the way he wanted it to be. He pictured S-Class as he and his teammates defeating any obstacle in his way, and he was starting to think that with the people he gathered, minus maybe Gray, he could easily do just that.

"You will not stand in our way… Angelica, take them down!" Sherry ordered.

The large rat turned around and prepared to perform a full frontal charge at the group of three wizards, though with how it was moving it didn't seem as if it would hit anything if they just moved out of the way slightly. Sherry herself jumped on the creature's back, mounting it as if it was meant for battle.

"We're not letting you get away with this!" Lucy exclaimed.

Unfortunately, the blonde did not mirror what Ichigo and Natsu had chosen to do. Each of them decided to merely step off to the side a small margin and dodge the incoming rodent. She, on the other hand, latched onto it and began to fly away, screaming the second after she realized this was the case.

"Why the hell did I decide to grab on?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Yup, she's stupid." Happy commented.

"More like insane." Natsu corrected as he looked up worriedly at the flying vermin.

"Why the hell didn't she just move?" Ichigo wondered aloud.

Currently, they just watched as the blonde punched at the toenails of Angelica, hoping desperately that it would at least accomplish something. She seemed to switch to tickling a moment later, and that, to the surprise of absolutely everyone present, worked.

The creature stopped spinning its tail, shortly after which it began to plummet down towards the earth. This, naturally, was accompanied by the panicked screams of both Lucy and Sherry, who fell with the rodent off in the distance.

"That was the absolute dumbest thing I think I've ever seen… and that's saying something." Ichigo thought aloud, sweatdropping alongside his pink-haired friend.

"Ditto." Natsu commented.

"Aye." Happy said in agreement.

"Oh man, he's gonna be ticked…" Yuka thought aloud.

"I already told you that I don't have any ticks!" Toby shouted.

"I wasn't talking about you." Yuka clarified emotionlessly.

"Happy, you mind going to look for her? That rat might've crushed her and I want to make sure she's alright." Natsu said.

"Alright, I'll go check on her." Happy replied before summoning his wings and flying off.

"You ready to kick their asses, Ichigo?" Natsu asked, cracking his knuckles as he did so.

"Do you even need to ask?" Ichigo replied, smirking slightly.

Obviously wanting to make the first move, Natsu lunged towards the two enemy wizards and instantly punched the dog-like man in the gut, effectively sending him flying across the crater that resulted from the village's recent destruction.

Still, the dragon slayer was in no way done as he almost instantly turned to the blue-haired man and let loose a powerful fire dragon's roar in an attempt to gain an offensive edge. However, yet again the said wizard just extended his hand and summoned a defensive barrier directly in front of him, causing the flames to do little more than dissipate before his very eyes.

'_Tch, figures._' Natsu thought out of annoyance as he regained his footing.

"A wizard who can breathe fire… I see. Don't tell me you're the Salamander from Fairy Tail I've heard so much about." Yuka stated, though he got no reaction out of the pink-haired teen.

"I'm good!" Toby exclaimed, quickly getting up and appearing to be in perfect health despite the fact that he was just recently punched across a crater.

"You know you shouldn't take us so lightly. We used to be members of a famous guild ourselves… so you shouldn't blow us off. In fact, Iron Rock Jura used to belong to the same guild, surely you've heard of the Lamia Scale." Yuka said contentedly.

In response, however, Natsu just shot two large waves of fire directly at each of the enemy wizards. Yuka just called forth another barrier and received no damage, though he was now severely annoyed, while Toby was much less fortunate and was charred a good degree by the attack.

"Hey cut it out! Listen to me when I'm talking to you." Yuka lightly demanded.

The dragon slayer wasn't the one to make a reply as the orange-haired teen wielding a large sword in his right hand seemed to appear out of this air directly next to his comrade.

"You really think we care who you are or what guild you used to be in? Please, we couldn't care less. All that matters is that you two destroyed most of this village and are currently trying to kill them off." Ichigo stated.

"Which makes you Fairy Tail's enemy, and that's more than enough reason for us to kick your ass." Natsu added.

"Hey, Toby, stay back. You don't need to get involved, I've got thi…" Yuka began.

Before the blue-haired man could even finish his sentence, a palm firmly gripped his face before he found himself being thrown across the battlefield and into a nearby hillside. His body crashed into the side of the crater so hard that dust and rocks flew everywhere around the point of impact, rendering his body invisible for the time being.

"Natsu, take care of the other guy. This one's mine." Ichigo stated, not bothering to look at his comrade as he spoke. Rather, he just chose to walk towards the hole his opponents landing had created.

"Right…" Natsu replied, directing his gaze back to the man who gave off the slight appearance of a dog.

"You think ya can beat me? I'll show you!" Toby shouted before charging the Fairy Tail wizard.

From within the body-shaped hole on the freshly created hillside, Yuka's eyes opened. What had just happened had rattled him slightly, and more for the reason that he didn't know how it was possible.

'_I didn't even see him move… and on top of that, I couldn't sense him use any magical energy, which means that what I just saw was his basic speed. But that can't be right… how would that even be possible?_' Yuka wondered as he exited the resulting hole of his recent collision.

"Are you just going to stand there and wonder how I just did that or are we gonna fight?" Ichigo taunted, resting Zangetsu across his shoulders in an uncaring manner.

"Heh, I wouldn't be so confident if I were you. My magical abilities render both your sword and any other magical attacks useless." Yuka stated.

In the next instant, the blue-haired wizard extended his right hand and sent forth a large wave of concentrated magical energy in the form of matter shooting across the battlefield directly at his opponent.

The attack ripped through the earth and appeared somewhat dangerous to most, but it was nowhere near fast enough. Ichigo carelessly leaped to the sides before the attack could connect, barely even finding the need to take his zanpakuto and make a ready stance once his feet hit the ground again.

"My magic allows me to diffuse the attacks of an enemy and it's designed specifically for combating other wizards. No matter how strong they might be, they are all equally susceptible to my abilities." Yuka said contentedly, clearly being rather proud of his own powers.

"Really? Well fire that last attack again and I guarantee I won't even have to move an inch." Ichigo stated.

Somewhat to the surprise of his opponent, Ichigo pointed the tip of his cleaver-like zanpakuto directly at the blue-haired man, though he made no effort to mount an assault. He just stared the man down and gave off the appearance that he intended to take the attack head on with just his sword.

"As you wish." Yuka replied, smirking heavily given that his opponent seemed, at least to him, to be underestimating the power of his attack.

The former Lamia Scale wizard extended his right hand once more, firing off another of his magic pulse attacks directly at his opponent just as was requested of him. At first he had thought it was bait so that the orange-haired teen could mount a counteroffensive, but as the attack continued to near he made no move to get out of its way.

'_He isn't seriously intended to take my attack head on… is he?_' Yuka wondered out of disbelief, though reality told a different story than what he had initially believed.

What happened next, however, shocked him even more so than when he had been initially thrown into the side of the crater. Before his very eyes the pulse of magic energy made contact with the tip of his opponent's sword, but mere seconds after the initial clashing of chosen weapons, his own attack shattered like glass. Despite what he had believed, it was unable to get past even the tip of the large cleaver.

"I-impossible…" Yuka uttered.

"I told you what would happen and you seem to have refused to believe me. Does it scare you that I was able to stop that attack so easily?" Ichigo taunted in a clam voice, his eyes possessing a hardened look to them.

"Don't think that you've won… I haven't been beaten just yet. Wave Bullet!" Yuka exclaimed.

Smaller projectile versions of the magical pulse attack began to fire off relentlessly from both of the blue-haired wizard's hands. Ichigo, however, just continuously jumped from location to location, never really fining the need to use flash step given that even if an attack had come close he could easily bat it to the side. Still, he needed to create a single opening and then the fight would end in an instant.

"Would you hold still?" Yuka asked, never ceasing his onslaught.

"We both know that I don't need to dodge these attacks…" Ichigo stated.

As if to prove his words were true, he stopped his constant movements and readied his zanpakuto in order to finally bring about the beginning of this fight's end. When each of the Wave Bullets came close, he simply batted them off to the side, no matter how many his opponent chose to fire. In fact, it appeared that Yuka was expending more energy to fire the attacks than the substitute was to deflect them.

"How are you able to block my attacks so easily? No wizard has ever been able to do that before…" Yuka thought aloud, momentarily stopping his attack out of sheer surprise.

At the moment he was almost accepting the fact that his opponent was on a much different level than himself. This acceptance, at the same time, caused him to drop his stance and leave his body wide open. It was fortunate that he was in a daze, though, given that when his opponent vanished before his eyes he didn't really feel any pain from what came next.

Appearing behind the enemy wizard, Ichigo used the bottom of his zanpakuto's hilt and hit him in the back of his head, effectively knocking him out and rendering him harmless for the time being.

"Well that's done…" Ichigo thought aloud before walking off to grab his remaining comrade.

_**With Natsu…**_

"Wow, you're pretty awesome." Toby commented, sounding somewhat cheerful.

Thus far he had constantly run at the dragon slayer but to no avail. Each instance he came close, his opponent would punch him, kick him, or shoot fire at him in a way that he never saw coming. Still it went a good bit to show how durable Toby was to see that he could take that much continuous punishment.

"Yeah, well your about to see how awesome I really am!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Heh, don't underestimate me. I haven't even shown you my Paralyzing Jellyfish Claws, bet you'll never guess what they do." Toby proclaimed, his nails becoming elongated and green as he spoke.

"Uh… paralyze people?" Natsu guessed, dropping his combat stance given that even he was surprised by this level of stupidity.

"Whoa, how'd you know that, you got ESP or somethin'?" Toby inquired confusedly.

"No, but we might wanna hold off on our fight. You got somethin' right here." Natsu stated, gesturing to the upper left side of his forehead.

"I do?" Toby uttered, after which he brought his hand up to rectify the situation.

Much as the pink-haired fire wizard had thought, Toby was indeed stupid enough to fall for such a simple trick. The second the claws he had spoken so highly of came into contact with his skin, he began to lightly scream as a jolt of electricity shot through his entire body. Shortly thereafter he fell back onto the ground, beaten and unconscious just as was intended.

"Well that was easy." Natsu thought aloud, sounding content.

"Don't go resting on me just yet. We've still got some work to do." Ichigo stated as he walked up to his increasingly close friend.

"Hey Ichigo, you win yet?" Natsu asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Yeah, but like I said we need to get going. The Cold Emperor is still inside that temple, and right now we need to deal with him." Ichigo replied in a serious voice.

"What about Gray?" Natsu questioned, his voice now becoming serious as well.

"As much as I hate to say it, we may need to leave him here. He's too injured to fight right now, and we can't take the risk of that demon being resurrected. At best, we've got until tomorrow night." Ichigo replied.

"Right." Natsu said in agreement before the two began to run off.

_**Shores of Galuna Island**_

"You're such a drama queen…" Lucy commented before finally allowing her legs to give in so that she could fall to the ground and gain some semblance of rest.

The battle she had just fought had been a hard won victory. Through it all, however, she found the strength to persevere with the knowledge that her companions were fighting to win, and so she would as well.

"In death… I have failed my love…" Sherry said melodramatically.

"Yeah… you're not gonna die, so tone it down a bit…" Lucy said with a deadpanned expression. It amazed her just how strange this woman could be.

"Angelica… avenge your master…" Sherry whispered before fainting completely.

The large rat that had previously been out of action jumped out from the nearby forest, very clearly being far from defeated. Lucy, in response, could only stare at it with a confused and frightened expression given that she didn't expect to see the damn thing ever again.

"Wait, I thought that was one of your puppets!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Aaaaaa!" The large rat shouted as it leaped towards its prey.

The blonde-haired wizard tried with all of her might to move her legs, but as a result of her recent fight she was unable to do so. With that in mind, she just held up her hands and braced for the inevitable impact.

'_This is so gonna hurt…_' Lucy thought tearfully, not exactly looking forward to the end result.

Luckily for her, in a way, the rat itself never even made within four feet of her. As the beast charged, a certain scarlet-haired woman clad in armor and bearing two identical swords sliced the beast across its chest.

The oversized rodent let out a pained squeal, after which it shot off into the sands and hit the ground like a ton of bricks. It was by no means dead, but at the very least it was out cold.

'_Looks like I got here at a convenient time._' Erza thought as she glared down at the rat's form.

"Thanks for the save Erza! I totally owe y…" Lucy began.

Sadly, her words had the immediate effect of snapping the renowned armor user out of her combat mode and into a mode that suggested she was about to murder anyone who stood in her way of accomplishing what she came here to do.

Erza turned to the blonde, glared at her heavily, and gave off a clear killer intent that caused the target thereof to pale and shiver out of pure fear.

"U-Umm… y-you're not h-here to help us… are you?" Lucy realized.

"I most certainly am not." Erza replied in a tone that possessed a high edge.

"W-Wait! Before you get angry, you should know that the villagers are really suffering! We're helping them, and then there's a demon, and a curse, and we…" Lucy uttered frantically, trying to fit all that had occurred into such a short collection of sentences.

"I don't care. I came here to bring you and the others back to the guild." Erza replied.

"But…" Lucy began.

She was cut off, or rather, stopped speaking the moment that the redhead brought up one of her swords and aimed it directly at her throat. Needless to say the blonde was almost immediately paralyzed with fear.

"Let me make this easier for you to understand… you have _violated _the guild's rules and betrayed master Makarov. You will be lucky to get out of this with your lives." Erza stated.

"Y-You wouldn't really hurt us… would you?" Lucy asked, sounding very much so unsure.

The redhead just continued to direct an ominous glare at her 'prisoner', though she did have the common courtesy to withdraw her blade given that she felt her point had been thoroughly illustrated.

"Lucy, you're okay!" Happy exclaimed cheerfully as he flew down towards the beach.

The blue-furred cat then instantly paled upon seeing the very same woman he had been so terrified of since they set foot on the island. He knew this would eventually happen, but he had hoped Erza would take more time to arrive.

"Run away!" Happy shouted.

Erza grabbed the cat's tail effortlessly and pulled him back towards her body, after which she threw him at Lucy and effectively terrified the feline to the point that he was latching onto the celestial wizard's body for dear life.

"Ichigo, save me!" Happy exclaimed out of fear, though his words were obviously not heard by the teen he had desired to call forth.

"Now… I will ask this only once. Where are Natsu, Gray, and _Ichigo_?" Erza asked, using a bit more venom as she uttered the final name on her list.

While she didn't really hold anything against the orange-haired swordsman, the fact that he had so blatantly violated the rules angered her a great deal. It was expected of Natsu to do something so stupid, but she expected a great deal more from him.

On top of that, she had been in such a good mood the previous morning and had looked forward to a sparring match a great deal. Then she had come into the guild only to find out about what Natsu and the others had done. Needless to say, it put her in a much less cheery mood.

Her mood aside, Erza did recognize that perhaps her judgment had been a bit too hasty. She couldn't help her anger, but she did take into consideration the fact that Ichigo may very well have been initially deceived and she believed that when she found him everything would be made clear.

"I… I don't know." Lucy replied.

"You _don't know_?" Erza growled out.

The blonde almost instantly fell to the ground out of pure fear, the feeling in her legs giving out in the wake of the look that now came onto Erza's features. A dark shade covered her face and fire seemed to burn in her eyes. Evidently Lucy had said exactly what she did _not_ want to hear. Being in front of such an angered, seemingly unstable and powerful female wizard, Happy and the celestial mage could only think of one thing to do.

"Ichigo, Natsu, save us!" The two squealed in unison, holding on to each other for dear life.

**A/N Okay, so next chapter will be next Friday since I still have exams early next week. That's all. **

_**Explanations**_

**What Ichigo Feels From the Ice**: He feels something coming off of it, and what that is will be revealed next chapter. It is a bit of a surprise, but at the same time a few people seem to be guessing that this is where I was initially going. Rest assured, the Iced Shell _does_ contain the essence of its caster.

**Erza**: Right now, she's just mad. Enough said.

_**Reviews**_

**Pokemaster94**: I think just about everyone in Fairy Tail would be terrified of Kenpachi just based off of how he acts and fights.

**DemonsAnarchy**: The hell verse is not canon and for the purposes of this story did not happen. That isn't to say it will never be relevant in any story that I do, but for this one it will not be used or referenced.

**ExanimeDraco**: You would be correct as to why the moon is messing with his ability to sense out magic energy/energy of any kind.

**Fairy Tail fan**: I have no idea what your question was supposed to be, sorry xD. If you were asking if he will fight anyone in this arc, yes, he will.

**ThatGuy brother of OtherGuy**: Yes, that's true, hadn't realized I accidentally did that in one instance.

**Mr. Unknown**: I didn't answer it because I wasn't going to give you a straight answer either way, but if you really want me to say it won't affect anything other than his sense, I will, because that's the answer.

**Hotstreak's crossover stories**: Given that hollows are a good bit different from demons, also given that Ichigo's inner hollow is technically also his Soul Reaper powers, he won't be effected at all. Ichigo and Gildarts? I haven't decided quite how well they will get along, but then again Gildarts also doesn't show up to the guild for a long, long time.

**GirlFish**: Can't say.

: Along those lines, yes. As for solo missions, given that it's early in the story, adding them in would really just make it pointlessly longer tbh. I have stuff planned where it will be for the most part just him and maybe one or two other people on a mission in the future, but for the time being it will be the Galuna Arc into the Phantom Arc.

**Jonnywonder**: Sorry, but you'll have to keep wondering when/_if_ that'll happen. Pairings are one thing I don't like to give away until its far too obvious, but rest assured it will be revealed in the near future.

**IchigFell**: lol ;P

**IAmGuest**: Oh I know perfectly well that so far it's stuck pretty closely to canon, but as I have said in the past, it will diverge more and more as the story goes on until eventually it's all completely new arcs and such. It is very hard to deviate from canon since it allows for him to be connected more with Fairy Tail, whereas if I have him go off on his own, or even with Natsu and Lucy on a random mission, I would still have to write things like the Lullaby incident, which would only prolong the story. This way, since I do write pretty quickly, I can 'zoom' through the early stuff, which I more or less have at this point, and get to more exciting things.

**ZERO**: All I have to say is read the A/N's… seriously, I have both said when this chapter was going to be posted and answered your question.

**The Free-loader**: Not exactly.

**gokusaiyan6412**: Depends on the dragon. Acnolgoia and Igneel, nope, the one's from the Eclipse Gate Arc, yup.


	17. Deliora

**A/N Here's the chapter I promised, and the next one will be posted… tomorrow, most likely. Since I finished up with my exams, I kind of finished this little arc of the story, so that means the next chapter will be posted tomorrow just because I haven't quite finished it but I will easily be able to. **

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 17 **

_**Remnants of the Village, The Next Day…**_

Gray walked out of the hut that he found himself in to see that the sun had already risen. The first thing he took note of was that the wizards that had tried to destroy it the previous day were nowhere to be seen, which was a good indicator that the others had held them off.

'_Which reminds me… I'm gonna kick Natsu's ass for doing that!_' Gray thought, recalling what had previously happened. A scowl marked his features at the simple recollection of being taken down by the dragon slayer, and needless to say he was very much so unhappy about it.

Still, the fact that the village was safe, or at least the villagers themselves, gave him a bit of comfort. Even if he hadn't been the one defending it, he was relieved to know this was the case.

"Oh good, your awake." A female villager stated as she walked up to the raven-haired teen.

"Huh?" Gray muttered, confused as to why this woman was currently addressing him.

"Your friends have asked me to get you. They are in a bit tent just over there and desire to speak with you. I remember them saying it was urgent…" She said.

"Alright. Thanks for telling me. Which tent was it again?" Gray asked.

_**Outside the Tent, A moment Later…**_

"Okay you guys, what'd you…" Gray began, only to freeze as he saw who in particular was inside the tent.

Currently, Lucy and Happy sat in place, being tied up rather harshly in plain brown ropes, while Erza sat atop a nearby barrel with a very angered look marking her features. The ice make user began to slightly sweat, mostly out of fear. Scratch that, it was entirely out of fear and he had good reason to feel such a thing.

"You made me wait. _Not_ a wise decision." Erza said in an annoyed tone.

"Erza? Wait, why are Lucy and Happy tied up?" Gray asked confusedly, though in retrospect it was a stupid question.

"Lucy's brought me up to speed… I was under the impression that you were sent here to stop them from going through with this. Needless to say I'm disappointed." Erza replied.

"Where are Natsu and Ichigo anyway?" Gray asked.

"That's something we'd all like to know. I happen to need to speak to those two in particular." Erza stated, an angry look coming onto her features.

'_Okay, so Natsu's a dead man and somehow Ichigo managed to piss her off. At least she doesn't seem that upset at me._' Gray thought out of mild relief.

"The last I saw them was when they were up against the Cold Emperor's lackeys… but when we went back, there wasn't any sign of them." Lucy said.

"That means we're going to search for Natsu and Ichigo and then we're going back to the guild." Erza said in a tone of finality as she headed towards the exit of the tent.

"We can't leave the island just yet. If Lucy filled you in then you know exactly what these villagers are going through right now." Gray countered.

"And what would be your point?" Erza asked harshly.

The black-haired ice wizard stood in place with an expression of disbelief. It seemed that the redheaded requip user was either so pissed off she didn't care about anything else, or her heart was as cold as a glacier. Needless to say he chose to believe the former given that she was a very caring person at heart, but that didn't excuse her from being so callous.

"Unbelievable… what the hell is wrong with you?!" Gray shouted, much to the surprise of everyone else present.

"Who do you think you're speaking to?" Erza asked dangerously.

"I don't give a damn who I'm speaking to! If you're going to let these villagers die and a demon be resurrected because we broke the rules then you're underserving of calling yourself a Fairy Tail wizard!" Gray replied angrily.

'_Now he's done it…_' Happy thought.

It didn't take more than half a second before the scarlet-haired woman summoned a magical sword and pointed it directly at her comrade's throat. There were very few things you could say to her that would make her truly angry, and the ice make user had just crossed that line.

"Say that again, I dare you." Erza challenged.

"I'd say it a hundred more times if you refuse to listen to reason." Gray replied with a heavy scowl on his face.

"Don't push her Gray!" Lucy exclaimed worriedly.

"Gray… I am willing to overlook your attitude and choice of words because we are friends, but only if you cooperate. We are getting the others and leaving this island. My decision is final." Erza said slowly and seriously.

"Wanna know something Erza? Ichigo actually didn't want to come to this island in the first place when he found out how serious of a breach in the rules it was, and trust me when I say he could have stopped Natsu all on his own and probably even me if he wanted to… but he didn't. He _wanted_ to come to this island, and do you know why?" Gray said.

The redheaded knight looked curiously at her friend for a moment, not choosing to say anything and most certainly not withdrawing her sword. Her interest, however, was piqued given that she knew Gray both had a point and believed it would somehow alter her current decision.

On top of that, she already knew that Ichigo hadn't initially known they were breaking the rules. Lucy had informed her of that much, but the blonde had left out the reason as to why he did end up going along with Natsu's idiotic ploy. Surely he had a good reason and she just refused to believe he didn't after getting to know him only a little bit.

No matter what the ice wizard chose to say, however, she would still be outrageously angry with what the group had done, and under the mental reassurance that she would beat the living daylight out of Natsu and give Ichigo an earful she allowed her companion to continue.

"Enlighten me." Erza requested calmly.

"He went along with it because on the docks someone told us about what was happening. He never cared about the reward at all, he never cared about S-Class or moving up in the guilds standings… all he wanted was to help these people out. He knows that saving lives comes before rules and knew that we had to this, so why can't you see it too?!" Gray said.

Erza adopted an expression of thought in the wake of the black-haired teen's words. She knew very well that this was something Ichigo would say, and in all honesty it was what she expected. Then again, the primary target of her anger had always been Natsu since he should have known better.

It was definitely a noble reason, helping people, but the rules of the guild, she thought, came first. Perhaps, however, she could briefly overlook such things in this instance given that very clearly they all seemed to be doing this for the right reasons.

"Tch, do whatever you want. If you've got the guts to kill me, then kill me… but I'm going to stop this madness whether you like it or not." Gray stated firmly, after which he walked off without even a second of protest from the scarlet-haired teen.

'_I'm going to beat the hell out of him for that…_' Erza thought, glaring at the exit to the tent. Though the ice make user did have a legitimate point, his disrespect for her was completely unacceptable.

"Um… Erza?" Lucy called out worriedly.

"Hold still…" Erza ordered, gripping her magical sword tightly as she spoke.

"EEEEEP!" Lucy shrieked upon seeing the redhead prepare to swing her magical weapon.

An instant later the ropes were cut, much to the surprise of the blonde who was very much so fearful that blood would be spilled. Still, this told her that, as impossible as it seemed, the seemingly stubborn wizard had changed her mind.

"Stay close to me you two. If you run off I will not hesitate to tie you up again." Erza said in a serious voice.

"Wait, so why'd you change your mind?" Lucy asked confusedly.

"If I ignore the fact that your intentions are in the right place then I am no better than the people destroying the island. Keep in mind that once this mission is complete the reward will not be collected." Erza replied, scowling at the blonde as she finished.

"Aye!" Happy exclaimed fearfully.

_**Outside the Temple of the Moon**_

"Damn, we thought of the perfect plan last night and it took us so damn long to get here." Natsu complained.

The previous night, after the enemy wizards had been dealt with and the villagers had been saved, both Ichigo and Natsu had opted to head towards the temple in an effort to stop the Cold Emperor dead in his tracks. However, the fact of the matter remained that the two had been extremely tired, one of them more so than the other.

"We would've gotten here sooner if you hadn't passed out in the forest last night." Ichigo stated with a tick mark popping out of his forehead.

"Well you coulda just woke me up. You didn't have to fall asleep too ya know!" Natsu countered defensively.

"Well you're the one who overslept!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"I was the one who woke you up! By the way, you never said you were sorry for throwing me into that tree!" Natsu shouted.

He really wished he had remembered the substitute's horrible habit of beating up anyone who woke him up with physical contact. Whoever his father was, the dragon slayer now wanted to meet and subsequently punch through a wall.

"Fine, I'm sorry." Ichigo said evenly.

"It still frickin' hurt!" Natsu replied.

"Never mind… anyway, do you remember what you have to do?" Ichigo asked, bringing the topic of discussion back on point.

"You bet. I'm just glad I get to destroy stuff." Natsu said happily.

"Alright, then let's go." Ichigo stated before the two ran towards the temple.

_**Inside the Temple of the Moon**_

"How pathetic… you're the only one still standing Toby." Lyon stated evenly.

The proclaimed Cold Emperor no longer wore the helmet over his head due to the fact that it had been destroyed in his minor confrontation with Ur's other former pupil. His actual appearance was that of a young man with black eyes and spikey hair that took a bluish-silver color. His expression, however, was just as smug as one would expect.

Still, the news that was just delivered to him did worry him slightly. At the moment he had lost both Sherry and Yuka, and on top of that the Fairy Tail wizards were all still alive. This did pose a threat to his plans, but nevertheless he was able to maintain his look of satisfaction as he sat within the confines of the throne somewhere near the apex of the temple itself.

"Those Fairy Tail wizards, they're quite impressive." Lyon thought aloud.

"Can we keep the part where I got shocked a secret?" Toby asked hopefully.

"Despite how impressive they may be, we must keep them from preventing the resurrection of Deliora." A masked man commented as he walked up towards the throne.

He was a short man wearing a red tribal masked with yellow surrounding the eyes that had a large amount of faux-green hair extending out of its back. The man himself wore a simple cloak overtop a red shirt and dark pants.

"Zalty… you're stealthy as ever." Lyon said, looking down at the masked man.

"If all goes as planned, the demon shall awaken at some point tonight, but we have to keep an eye on those wizards. If they were to interrupt the Moon Drip ceremony then Deliora will forever remain encased in ice." Zalty stated.

"Are you that worried?" Lyon asked amusedly.

"Salamander and Titania are both quite powerful, and on top of that there is the orange-haired boy who has recently joined their guild. I am given to understand that his magic is powerful enough to destroy black magic completely, and his combat skills were enough to take down Erigor the Reaper." Zalty replied in his usual tone of voice.

"As always, you seem remarkably well-informed. No matter… those fools may be strong but they're no match for me." Lyon boasted in a calm voice, as if he truly believed such a thing.

"I was hoping you'd say that so it's very reassuring to hear. But still, allow me the honor of joining you in battle for old time's sake." Zalty offered.

"Wait, I didn't know you were a wizard too!" Toby exclaimed in a surprised tone.

"It's been a while since I've used it, but I've dabbled in a particular form of lost magic." Zalty replied.

"Sure, we could use another wizard." Lyon reasoned.

The conversation the three had been having was cut short due to the very temple itself shaking uncontrollable. It gave off the impression that some kind of seismic activity was behind it, but the island had never experience such a thing in all the time that they had been there. On top of that, the shakes seemed to be happening in different intervals of time as opposed to a continuous upheaval of the earth.

"Is this an earthquake?" Toby wondered aloud.

"I don't think so." Lyon said.

Abruptly the temple stopped shaking, but even thought his was the case it was currently tilted on its side. The immediate problem, however, decided to rear its ugly head upon a large hole being chopped open in the floor of the room the three currently stood.

Shortly thereafter, out of the freshly created opening in the floor jumped a certain orange-haired teen clad in black with a sword raised at his side. He instantly glared at the silver-haired man who called himself the Cold Emperor, clearly ignoring the both Toby and the man he didn't recognize.

"I take it _this_ the wizard you were referring to, Zalty?" Lyon asked dispassionately.

"Yes, indeed he is. It would appear that he has destroyed the support beams of the temple and tilted it so that the energy from the Moon Drip no longer shines on Deliora. It truly is an ingenious plan." Zalty said, somewhat excitedly.

"I can't really take all the credit. After all, I wasn't the one who destroyed the pillars." Ichigo replied.

A moment later Fairy Tail's Salamander himself jumped up through the opening in the room's floor, his fists already covered in fire and his glare held firmly on the Cold Emperor.

"Hahahaha… ya know I usually end up breaking stuff by accident, but it's kinda funny how hard it is when I'm tryin' to do it on purpose." Natsu stated.

"You mean to tell me this idiot managed to be of use to you?" Zalty asked amusedly.

"I'm not an idiot! Who the hell are you anyway?!" Natsu exclaimed angrily.

"Actually that's a good question. I don't remember seeing you here before." Ichigo said, resting his zanpakuto across his shoulders given that he didn't sense a fight was going to break out for the moment.

"My name isn't really all that important. Sir, would you mind if I take the taller one off of your hands? I'm sure Salamander will put up more than you thought for entertainment." Zalty said.

"No… I will deal with these interlopers myself." Lyon stated.

"Ya know, I let you get away with that cocky attitude when you were fighting Gray, but if you think you can easily take the both of us one by yourself, then you're even dumber than I thought you were." Ichigo taunted, after which he prepared Zangetsu for the coming fight.

"Just who do you think you are to challenge me in such a way?" Lyon asked, his voice having hints of anger in it.

"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki, and I'm… well, I guess I'm a member of Fairy Tail right now." Ichigo replied.

"Yeah, and we're gonna kick your ass for messin' with the villagers!" Natsu exclaimed.

Unsurprisingly, the dragon slayer was the first to make a move. He charged the Cold Emperor with his fists coated in his flames in an effort to do instantaneous damage. Still, their opponent was far too skilled to allow such a standard attack to phase him.

Lyon leaped backwards into the air with the palm of his right hand directed towards the pink-haired teen, magic energy gathering within it as an indication that he was preparing a counterattack.

"Ice Make Eagle!" Lyon exclaimed.

A series of birds in the form of ice flew directly at Natsu clearly with the intent of hitting him so quickly and without warning that he would be left open to another attack even if this one didn't do him in.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu shouted, destroying the collection of ice-birds with a powerful ray of fire.

"Ice Make Shield." Lyon uttered, summoning a shield made of magically reinforced ice directly in front of himself.

The end result was for the Fairy Tail wizard's attack to do little more than dissipate upon coming into contact with the Cold Emperor's defensive spell. Even so, they were far from done.

"Not bad…" Lyon admitted.

He placed the palm of his hand on the ground an instant later, after which he sent forth a large amount of spiked ice shooting up from the ground that progressively moved closer and closer to the fire magic user.

Natsu, seeing this, jumped into the air in order to dodge the attack, which he did successfully accomplish. However, at the same time, he left himself unable to dodge any attack his opponent would use.

"Now you can't dodge my attack. Ice Make Eagle!" Lyon said, getting a bit more excited than he probably should have.

The iced birds once again flew towards the dragon slayer in an attempt to hit most every area of his body with a massive amount of force. Still, up until this point one of the Cold Emperors two opponents had yet to act.

Before his and everyone else's very eyes, Ichigo appeared out of seemingly thin air and swung his sword in the direction of the ice make user's attack. Each of the birds shattered into nothing but shards of ice shortly thereafter, effectively saving the dragon slayer and leaving the silver-haired man's stance wide open.

"Now I've got ya!" Natsu stated happily as his feet hit the ground.

He prepared to launch another offensive, but he was stopped by the feeling of the ground caving in beneath his feet. Well, it wasn't necessarily caving in, more along the lines of vaporizing.

It wasn't just Natsu, however. Ichigo as well fell victim to the pitfall, though this time he was more than ready to stop both his and Natsu's decent down towards the ground level of the temple.

The substitute grabbed his comrade's wrist almost immediately after seeing the ground crumble, after which he threw him onto solid ground and then took the same position himself, though obviously he stood next to the currently kneeling dragon slayer.

"Thanks for the save…" Natsu said, picking himself up as he did so.

"No problem. Still, I wasn't expecting the ground to randomly cave in like that." Ichigo replied, glaring heavily at the silver-haired wizard as he spoke.

It was perfectly obvious, given how specific the area of effect was, that the ground giving in was the result of one of the enemy wizard's spells. The prime suspect, currently, was Lyon himself given that if Natsu hadn't been destabilized just then an attack likely would have landed a near-direct hit.

"That was very fortunate, Cold Emperor. Luck is on your side." Zalty stated.

"What did you do?" Lyon snapped in an annoyed tone, turning to face the masked man as he did so.

"Whatever do you mean?" Zalty asked, feigning ignorance.

"Don't play dumb with me. Your magic had to have caused that hole in the floor." Lyon replied.

"Well now don't you have ever the watchful eye." Zalty thought aloud.

"So you're the one who did that? It's a nice trick, but don't think for a second that it will work again." Ichigo stated.

"Please allow me to explain myself sir. You see when Deliora is resurrected you're the only one capable of defeating him and therefore you must be kept safe at all costs." Zalty explained.

"Ridiculous… to think that I could be harmed by these two." Lyon sneered.

'_I'm tempted to cut him in half right now._' Ichigo thought, being highly annoyed by the young man's attitude.

The only people that had ever gotten away with speaking to him like that for a prolonged period of time was Aizen, and even then it was due to the fact that for a majority of every instance the two had fought the former captain was always on a different level of skill.

Needless to say, hearing such insults to his strength from someone he knew for a fact was weaker than him was really starting to get to him.

His thoughts were interrupted, however, when Lyon seemed to activate his magic once more. He willed a large sheet of ice to cover every crevice of the room, which included closing up the hole that Zalty had just opened up.

"Leave me… I can take care of this myself." Lyon claimed.

"Very well, sir." Zalty replied before running off.

"Hey wait a minute!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Going after him is pointless now. Once I deal with you, I will move on to Deliora, and once I do that everyone will worship my name, Cold Emperor Lyon. I've worked too hard to let pathetic brats like you tarnish it." Lyon stated.

"So you're doing all of this for something as stupid as recognition? Don't you care at all about the villagers your harming?!" Ichigo shouted.

"I have spent my life trying to surpass my old master, and despite what you say I will finally prove I am better than her by slaying the demon she could not." Lyon replied.

"Wait… was your masters name Ur by any chance?" Ichigo questioned, momentarily holding off his assault. His pink-haired companion opted to do the same.

"Yes, she was. I assume that Gray told you of our connection then?" Lyon questioned.

"No… he didn't. What you said told me both how you know each other and also who it was that taught each of you you're magic." Ichigo replied.

"Hehe, well it still does you little good to know such things." Lyon said amusedly.

"Answer me this though, why would you go so far to try and surpass her? Why would you throw away the lives of so many for something as stupid as your own pride? Don't you care at all about your master's legacy?" Ichigo pressed.

"I won't stand here and be lectured by the likes of someone who is incapable of understanding why I am doing what I am. For the record, I cared for Ur very much, and I have shown great restraint in letting the man who caused her death to live for this long." Lyon replied.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Natsu asked confusedly.

"Didn't Gray tell you…? Of course not, why would that coward say anything. Ur gave her life to cast the Iced Shell, but she would still be alive if it wasn't for Gray." Lyon replied, frowning at the memory of his master's technical death.

"That's still makes what you're doing here now even stupider. I don't see the point in trying to prove you're better than her, and moreover I don't get why you would free a demon to try and prove yourself. Using your master's death to push yourself to something this foolish is exactly what she wouldn't want for you. In fact, I'd say what you're doing now makes her sacrifice pointless!" Ichigo shouted.

He understood perfectly well that using the death of a loved one was a great source of motivation to push yourself to a certain goal, but that goal could be easily be for the purposes of evil just as it could be for the forces of good. He himself had used the death of his mother to engrave in his being the undeniable will to protect those he cared about so that he would never have to experience something like that again.

The Cold Emperor, on the other hand, was on a quest to prove his own personal power. Not only that, he was also competing with someone who was currently deceased, which only went to tarnish the name of his master more so.

"Shut up!" Lyon shouted, after which he sent forth a flurry of Ice Make Eagles directly towards solely the orange-haired teen.

The attack didn't even make it half way towards the substitute before Natsu shot a large burst of flames directly at the magically reinforced ice. Each of the projectiles melted in the wake of the searing heat, leaving the battlefield just as it was before the Cold Emperor's outburst.

"You should listen to what he's saying! Your master wouldn't want something like that to be set free again!" Natsu exclaimed angrily, obviously being frustrated by the conflicting nature of the silver-haired man's objective.

"I've had about enough of you two… it's about time I get serious." Lyon said in an annoyed voice, a cold mist surrounding his body as he spoke.

A nearby section of wall was completely obliterated a second later, delaying the fight yet again and revealing another person to have arrived on the scene. With his body bandaged and still bruised, Gray came through the fresh hole he had created in the temple's wall. He looked as determined as ever, a glare firmly fixed on Ur's former 'star' pupil.

"Sorry I'm late." Gray apologized.

"Who said we were expecting you?" Natsu countered.

"Tch, shut it Natsu. As hard as it is to believe, Lyon's the only one I want to fight right now." Gray replied, somewhat to the surprised of the pink-haired friend.

"Glad to see you're alright. How'd the villagers and Lucy turn out?" Ichigo asked.

"The villagers are fine, but Lucy came with me. Oh, and I should mention that Erza's here…" Gray began.

"She's here on the island?!" Natsu exclaimed fearfully.

"Yeah… and she might actually kill you this time Natsu. Ichigo, she also seemed pretty pissed at you for some reason." Gray added.

"Great, now I've got to deal with that… still, the fact that your hear means that she at least doesn't intend to drag us back before we finish up." Ichigo reasoned.

"Would it surprise you if I said she tried?" Gray asked rhetorically.

"Not really, but I think she's…" Ichigo began.

The temple then began to shake a great deal once more, which caused him to stop midsentence. Much to his surprise, it began to shift the opposite direction of what it currently was, essentially reversing the tilt that Natsu had worked so hard to accomplish.

'_Wait, how the hell is that possible?_' Ichigo wondered. It was as if someone was using Orihime's powers on the base of the temple, but he knew for a fact that no such thing should have been present in this world. In fact, it was a stretch for something like that to exist at all in _any_ dimension.

"The temple's realigning…" Gray thought aloud.

"Dammit! I worked hard on that!" Natsu exclaimed, angrily slamming his foot against the ground as he did so.

"More importantly that means the moon will shine on Deliora when nighttime comes." Ichigo stated, glaring at the thought.

"The moons almost out… this is bad, real bad." Gray said.

"Pardon the interruption…" Zalty called out, entering through the hole that Gray had created in the wall.

'_What the hell?_' Most everyone thought similarly.

"I should've known… I take it _you_ did this?" Lyon inquired.

"Indeed I did, sir. The moon will be out soon so I took the liberty of fixing the temple for you." Zalty replied.

"That weirdo fixed the temple all by himself?" Gray wondered aloud.

"And after all the trouble I went to destroy it too…" Natsu griped, crossing his arms in an angry fashion.

"Just what the hell did you do to fix the temple anyway?" Ichigo asked, directing his traditional scowl and glare at the masked man.

Much to his annoyance, and slight confusion, the short wizard just laughed rather heartily at his question, not even bothering to give him a direct answer.

"Since it's about time I suppose I should commence the Moon Drip ceremony." Zalty mused before running off again.

"That guy is starting to piss me off…" Natsu growled out.

"I'll go after him since he's being such a damn problem. You two stay here and take care of the Cold Emperor." Ichigo ordered.

"I don't need his help to win!" Both exclaimed simultaneously.

"Just shut up and win you two." Ichigo said in an annoyed tone before vanishing in the blur of flash step.

"Tch, he's starting to sound like Erza the way he told us to work together." Gray scoffed.

"Ichigo's way nicer than Erza!" Natsu said defensively.

"…agreed…" Gray conceded.

"Are you two nitwits done talking amongst yourselves?" Lyon asked, taking off his cape as he did so.

"Natsu… if at all possible, let me get the last hit in. I might be forced into fighting with you, but that doesn't mean I don't have a score to settle with Lyon." Gray stated.

"I don't mind… just make sure ya hit him extra hard for me." Natsu replied, smirking widely.

"Sure thing." Gray replied, an equally large smirk coming onto his own features.

_**Beneath the Temple of the Moon, Some Time Later…**_

'_This guy's really damn annoying…_' Ichigo thought.

Even using flash step proved to be difficult in pursuit of the odd-looking wizard given that he didn't know where exactly he was going. In fact, he was more following the traces of the masked man's energy in order to track him, which thanks to the island was far more difficult than it needed to be.

The two finally came to a stop within the resting place of Deliora, all the while the purple energy poured down from the ceiling as a sign that the Moon Drip had commenced. Zatly himself was standing atop a nearby rock formation, a smirk etched on his face as he gazed down at the substitute.

Incidentally, however, the enemy wizard's presence wasn't the most concerning thing at the moment. Deliora's body was almost completely freed from the ice, which meant it was only a matter of time before it was completely resurrected.

"Well now this is a pleasant surprise. I really was looking forward to having a bit of fun with you." Zalty stated.

"Then why bring me here of all places? You were moving too specifically for not having a plan with where you were leading me." Ichigo said.

"Aren't you the observant one? If you must know why I brought you here, it's because of that attack you are capable of firing. I can't very well allow you to release it anywhere else. Otherwise the temple itself might be destroyed." Zalty explained.

"And what makes you think I won't use it here?" Ichigo asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Simple… that attack of yours was potent enough to destroy the Lullaby flute. It stands to reason that if this is the case then perhaps you are capable of breaking the Iced Shell with such a power. Now you wouldn't go and risk that happening, would you?" Zalty countered, his smirk increasing in size.

"You seem to know a lot about me and I don't really like that." Ichigo stated matter-of-factly, prompting the masked man to chuckle in response.

"Let's just say I like to do research, and you are a fascinating subject indeed." Zalty replied.

"You're really creepy, you know that?" Ichigo asked rhetorically.

"Now that hurts…" Zalty said in a tone of fake sadness.

Without any warning, a crystal sphere shot at Ichigo from across the cavern, forcing him to jump up into the air in order to avoid it. The projectile was initially dodged however it then turned and began to fly after the substitute as he floated in the air, fresh off of his previous evasion.

The orange-haired teen then brought his sword across the object and sliced it in half, but that proved to be useless a second later. In an instant after it had been presumably destroyed, the sphere returned to its former undestroyed form and continued to rush at its target.

'_What the hell?_' Ichigo wondered.

He opted to use flash step a moment later, choosing to appear atop a rock formation opposite of Zalty in order to gain a better perspective of the battlefield. Thus far he concluded that it was either the magic of his opponent or a special property of the crystal spheres themselves, however given what he already knew to have resulted from the man's magic he knew for a fact that it was the former.

"Just what the hell kind of magic are you capable of using?" Ichigo asked, as if demanding to know.

"You see I practice a form of lost magic that allows me to control an object's time. You see just now I caused the crystal to return to a time when it wasn't broken, which allows me to continuously use it. The magic is called the Arc of Time." Zalty explained.

"So that's how you fixed the temple so quickly and also how you cased the floor to cave in… still, I've seen better powers than that before." Ichigo said, sounding unimpressed.

"Oh, care to explain?" Zalty asked, a slight frown marking his features as opposed to a cocky smirk.

"Very clearly you can't use your powers on living objects. Otherwise you'd of just used it to kill me or any of the others by now. Moreover, you wouldn't need the Moon Drip in the first place to free Deliora, you could just use your magic to destroy the ice. However since the ice is living because of its caster's sacrifice, your unable to do it." Ichigo replied.

For a moment the cocky look on the masked man's face completely disappeared. Not only had the orange-haired teen figured out how why he couldn't just destroy the Iced Shell, he also figured it out without him saying so. It wasn't very likely that Ur's other former pupil had said anything, mostly because it was somewhat of a closely guarded secret of the spell itself. He stood in awe at the rather impressive deduction of someone who was really quite new to all of this. His ability to comprehend a given situation was rather phenomenal, but 'he' still had an act to keep up and therefore shook off his surprise for the time being.

"My, my, you are an observant one. Tell me if you saw this one coming." Zalty said, his smirk returning in full force.

A total of three separate crystal spheres quickly revealed themselves and began to charge directly at the orange-haired teen from all directions. Clearly they were meant to be a surprise attack, and they were moving significantly faster than the initial projectile. Still, that wasn't fast enough to land a direct hit.

Ichigo used flash step to evade the attacks, after which he appeared directly above the rock formation above which Zalty currently stood, his zanpakuto raised high and prepared to crash onto his opponent in an attempt to end the fight right here and now.

The time magic user, however, leaped backwards in the air with time to spare, which surprised Ichigo a great deal given that he had been the first person to be able to read his movements. Perhaps he hadn't faced any particularly powerful opponents, but even so it was a surprise.

His sword smashed into the rock formation and completely destroyed it, revealing to Zalty that obviously evasion was the proper decision given that if he had stayed for just a few more seconds he may very well have lost half of his body or perhaps at best a limb or two.

"Now that was very impressive. I expected as much from such a worthy adversary. Had that last attack hit me, I may very well be dead." Zalty commented in an upbeat tone, which was surprising given that the topic of his sentence was his own demise.

"You know something… you're the first person I've fought here so far that has been able to even remotely read my movements. Since that's the case, I want to know something. Why the hell are you helping Lyon?" Ichigo asked forcefully.

"Hahahahaha! Nothing gets past you, does it? I was right to think that you really are a splendid warrior. Inelegance, agility, speed, strength, you just seem to have it all don't you?" Zalty said, sounding rather excited for some reason.

"Answer my damn question before I land an attack that doesn't miss." Ichigo said, scowling full force at the masked man.

"The Cold Emperor Lyon is an arrogant twit. He doesn't stand a chance against Deliora." Zalty began.

"Tell me something I don't know." Ichigo requested, his voice laced with heavy sarcasm.

"Well you see when he fails, that's where I come in. There are certain spells that allow the caster power over immortal monsters like this one here. With this demon under my control, I'd become the most powerful man in the world." Zalty stated proudly.

"You really think that this demon is going to make you that strong… please…" Ichigo began.

An instant later he appeared directly in front of the masked wizard with his fist cocked back and prepared to do some heavy damage. Zalty could do nothing but gasp as a result of being played so easily.

His opponent had quite literally caused him to blurt out his 'plan' and become distracted by the thoughts of actually accomplishing such a goal. It was extremely clever, and a very obvious strategy that he had, unfortunately, fallen for.

"…you can't even get past me." Ichigo finished.

A moment later the substitute's fist connected with his opponent's midsection, effectively launching the time magic user into a nearby series of rock formations with such force that the ground itself seemed to shake. The rubble seemed to surround his body, and at the very least he presumed he was out cold. That left very few things to be attended to, one of which actually decided to enter almost immediately after Zalty had been taken care of.

"Now all that's left is you…" Ichigo trailed off, looking up at the demon that was nearly out of its prison.

However, now more than ever he knew that what he said wasn't very true. Deliora, for how massive and demonic he appeared to be, was as harmless as a speck of dust. He had initially been worried that the energy he felt coming off of the demon had been Deliora itself, but the creature was already as good as dead.

Ichigo walked up to the remainder of the ice, feeling the presence of what was unmistakably spiritual energy coming off of it. He had a feeling the ice was special the second that he sensed it, but it wasn't until after he learned exactly what the Iced Shell was that he realized why he felt that specific type of aura emanating from the demon's prison.

However, when he had learned that, there was the distinct fact of the matter that the soul of the caster couldn't be freed unless the ice itself were to disappear, which would ultimately free Deliora. Now, though, he knew that wasn't an issue. All that was left to do was to free the spirit within the spell before the ice melted completely.

"Okay… now how the hell am I supposed to do this?" Ichigo wondered aloud.

He placed a hand on a section of the ice that still remained, closing his eyes and trying to feel just how 'human' the soul within it was. While nothing could be heard in terms of a voice calling out to him, he did feel the presence of someone within.

"Then… maybe this will work after all." Ichigo said.

A moment later he readied his zanpakuto and aimed the bottom of the grip directly at the section of ice immediately in front of him. Shortly thereafter, he gently placed said section of his sword against the technical soul of Gray's teacher and began to will his spiritual energy to flow into the magically created sold.

'_Come on… this should work._' Ichigo thought.

An ethereal glow started to coat the form of the Iced Shell, or what was left of it, effectively making Ichigo's eyes widen out of surprise. That, however, also came as a great sense of relief given that the ice itself was now vanishing into miniscule but incredibly numerous particles of light blue spiritual energy.

Ichigo smiled at the sight, knowing full well that he had somehow helped a soul pass on to the next world. He didn't quite know what would happen if he hadn't done this, but in the end he wasn't willing to take a chance and simply allow the ice to melt. After all, even in his world it was possible for a soul to simply be destroyed, never to rear its head again in any world.

The particles of spiritual energy, though, didn't dissipate into the air as he had expected. They began to coalesce, taking a new form directly beneath the dead front of the immobile demonic creature.

'_What the hell?_' Ichigo wondered confusedly.

Before his very eyes the shape of a human began to take shape, having the outline of a woman if the chest area was anything to go by. Little by little, the glowing blue pieces of energy began to give off the appearance of a living being.

Very clearly it was a spirit as an ethereal glow still surrounded its body, however Ichigo wasn't paying attention to the fact that it _was_ in fact a spirit. He knew exactly who this was, and he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

The woman was fairly tall, had a slim but curvaceous figure, short dark-purple hair and a pair of black eyes. She wore a tan jacket with a black collar, a pair of jeans and a red tank top.

"You're… are you… Ur?" Ichigo asked. He didn't know why, but he could swear that he had seen this person before, or at the very least someone who looked similar to her. On top of that, now that this woman was directly in front of her, the feel of her life force and magical power that still manifested itself within her soul felt very familiar.

"_Huh… you know, I pictured this place bein' a bit dimmer._' Ur thought aloud, observing her surroundings as her spirit continued to hover into the air.

"Uh…" Ichigo uttered, not entirely sure of what to say.

"_Hey… what's your name?_' Ur questioned, looking back at the orange-haired teen that she seemed to just have noticed.

"You mind answering my question first?" Ichigo asked in a slightly annoyed manner.

"_Hehe, sorry about that. Yes, my name is Ur… now, please answer mine._' Ur said.

"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Soul Reaper." Ichigo replied.

"_I see… and what exactly did you just do to me?_' Ur inquired, sounding rather confused.

Ichigo looked at her with a curious expression, not entirely being sure as to whether or not this woman knew what was going on at this current point in time. The way she was now looking at her body made it seem as if she didn't have a clue, but then again that was perhaps a normal reaction to what had happened.

"Do you know what was going on?" Ichigo inquired, deciding to at least find out that much first.

"_I… yes, unfortunately I was aware of what was happening. Though I didn't really care, all that matters is that this pathetic excuse for a monster is dead._" Ur stated, glaring up at the form of the now free demon of destruction.

"_However, I haven't the slightest clue as to how you undid the Iced Shell. What are you, some kind of magical genius or somethin'?_" Ur questioned.

"I don't think we have time for me to tell you exactly who I am, and even if we did, I don't think you'd believe me." Ichigo thought aloud, chuckling slightly at his own words.

"_At this point I'd believe anything… just give me the short version, handsome._' Ur said, directing a small but playful smirk at the orange-haired teen.

Ichigo paused briefly and blushed, though he didn't really pay any mind to that fact. He was just set on the belief that he had seen that look before on a woman, one that he had definitely met before and one that _definitely_ wasn't Yoruichi. Still, he had time to think on that later so he didn't dwell on it too much.

"Your soul was trapped in the Iced Shell, I just let it out." Ichigo replied.

"_D-Did you really? So am I actually free to move?!_" Ur asked in a hopeful manner.

The substitute frowned at the question, dreading the fact that he knew the answer would disappoint her. However, he didn't find it necessary to do so as a moment alter Ur's body began to glow more so than before, her human form dissipating by each passing second.

"_Well… that answers that._" Ur said in a disappointed manner.

"Sorry… but, if it helps, you're at least going to a better place." Ichigo stated. In truth, though, he wasn't entirely sure where this woman would go. The fact that Konso worked on her in this dimension was baffling enough, but given that Soul Reapers didn't exist here he had no idea whatsoever about what would end up happening.

"_Huh… well, that's a bit of a letdown. I kind of wanted to visit someone one last time beforehand._" Ur stated with a sad smile.

"Are you talking about Gray and Lyon?" Ichigo inquired with a quirked brow.

The woman smiled at the mention of her two pupils, despite the fact that she knew very well what Lyon had tried to do. She, in truth, didn't hold a grudge against him, and Gray was like the son she never had, but even so they were not who she had been referring to.

"_No… I love them both, but I dearly want to see the light of my life, or what was once its light anyway. Perhaps I will see her on the other side, but I believe she is still alive. You see, I wanted to see if…_" Ur began.

The dark-haired woman, however, couldn't finish her sentence as within an instant her entire being flashed with a brilliant eruption of bright blue light, subsequently after which her body vanished into thin air.

Not a sound echoed in the cavern for some time with the substitute just standing in place, smiling slightly due to the fact that he had helped his friend's master avoid an unknown fate. He may not have known where she would go, but wherever she was, he knew it was some form of an afterlife.

The ensuing silence was short lived as a moment later the unpleasant sound of cracking stones sounded off from a nearby section of the cavern, effectively breaking Ichigo out of his thoughts and redirecting his attention.

"What the hell?" Ichigo uttered, looking off to the sides of the cavern to see a body fly through the wall.

He saw the beaten and battered from of the Cold Emperor, Lyon, facing the floor of the temple's underground area in a defeated manner. The silver-haired man was still conscious, but he currently wasn't standing, which was quite the opposite of the other two that happened to enter the area shortly thereafter.

'_So… they managed to beat him._' Ichigo thought contentedly, allowing a smile to form on his lips at the sight of a victorious Gray and Natsu.

"Dammit, we're too late!" Gray exclaimed worriedly.

Each present looked on to see the intimidating form of Deliora completely devoid of ice covering his body. At this, Lyon began to crawl forward, a driven look on his face, though it possessed signs of underlying obsession.

Ichigo, however, inwardly sighed out of pure relief. He couldn't sense a damn thing from the so-called immortal creature even now after he had freed Ur's soul. Not even a trace of life could be detected. Moreover it didn't even so much as growl, it just stood in place, not moving a muscle, in total silence. He just hoped no one did anything stupid before he explained that.

"Stand back… none of you… are strong enough… I… I will be the one to defeat it…" Lyon said as he continued to inch forward, his body still being in contact with the ground.

"Lyon…" Gray said in a saddened tone.

"**Graaaaaaaaaaaaaa!**" Deliora roared, giving off some sings of clear life.

'_Wait… but that's not possible… it's dead…_' Ichigo thought. It didn't make any sense that it was capable of making any noise, and even right now he knew for a fact that its life had passed. Literally nothing was coming off of it, and that last roar was perhaps the only remaining thing it was capable of doing.

"Stand back… Gray… I will surpass Ur by defeating that thing!" Lyon proclaimed.

"No you're not…" Gray stated in a tone of finality.

The raven-haired teen then walked directly in front of the creature and took on a stance in order to perform a specific spell. At this, Ur's other former pupil went wide-eyed out of both surprise and concern.

"No you fool! Don't you dare do it! That creature is mine to destroy and I will not allow you to seal it again!" Lyon shouted.

"What?!" Ichigo and Natsu exclaimed simultaneously, looking as their comrade continued to build up his magical energy.

"This is the only way… I have to seal Deliora!" Gray stated.

"Gray… you don't need to do this!" Ichigo shouted.

"You can't stop me, I…" Gray began, his eyes never leaving the form of the demon.

"Listen to me you idiot, that thing is clearly dead! It hasn't moved the entire time it's been free!" Ichigo exclaimed urgently.

"W-What?" Gray uttered, giving pause to his current action as a result of his surprise.

"Wait a minute… this thing's dead?" Natsu asked confusedly, staring at the still immobile demon.

"Yeah, it is. Here, I'll prove it…" Ichigo stated.

The substitute cocked back his sword a moment later, after which he swung at full force, sending a large concentrated blast of wind shooting towards the currently deceased demon's body. When the attack made contact, the practical corpse shattered into many different limbs, falling to the ground and giving off slight amounts of dust and ash.

"I-Impossible…" Lyon uttered out of sheer disbelief.

"It must've just died all those years in that ice." Natsu reasoned.

"So then what we've just witnessed was its dying breath… my dream… my dream is dead… I will never surpass Ur now…" Lyon said with a heavy voice, tears falling to his eyes and his hands balling into fists.

Ichigo looked down on the form of the silver-haired teen with a slight amount of pity. In actuality Ur hadn't just sealed away Deliora, she had ended up killing it outright over the years. Lyon, despite all he had done, was just chasing after something that simply wasn't there. In fact, all that had happened only went to show just how strong Ur herself actually was.

"Man, your teacher must've been pretty awesome." Natsu said with a cheerful smile, looking back at his black-haired friend.

"Yeah… she was…" Gray said, unable to keep the stream of tears from falling down his cheeks.

When the tears stopped falling he walked over to the silver-haired man who still lay on the ground, defeated both mentally and physically for the time being, and helped him up. Despite Gray's own state, which was worse for wear, he threw his former comrade's arm over his shoulders and turned to face the group.

Both Ichigo and Natsu looked at one another and smile genuinely. Their work here was currently done, or at least part of it anyway. The Moon Drip was stopped and Deliora was dealt with, and that was in all honesty the biggest problem they had faced since coming to the island, though perhaps an even bigger mountain to climb still existed.

'_Crap… I just remembered that Erza's here._' Ichigo thought, fighting the urge to release a tired groan.

**A/N Again, next chapter will be posted tomorrow, so until then! **

_**Explanations**_:

**Ur**: So her soul was freed from the Iced Shell, the logic behind which I will not state given that I feel it is fairly intuitive, and I will say that her soul just didn't vanish and she _isn't_ gone. Where did she go? Well, wouldn't you all like to know?

**Erza**: Expect to see her and Ichigo actually speak about what happened next chapter. She does, however, understand that he _does_ have a reason for doing what he is doing.

_**Reviews**_:

**Pokemaster94**: I think Chad is more manly but less vocal about it ;P

**Badguy3**: Can't really answer your question, so you'll just have to wait and see ;)

**bleachnumber1protector**: Something similar to that will happen, I suppose.

**cellum95**: I don't know.

**Fairy Tail fan**: If by filler episodes you mean little chapters that just deviate from canon for the purpose of adding in cool stuff or good stuff in the way of character development, then yes.

**GirlFish**: The Phoenix Priestess will not really pertain to this story, and I can't tell you exactly when Hollow Ichigo/The Real Zangetsu shows up ;P

**Humbertorojo96**: I can't really answer your question, all I can really say is wait and see if it comes down to too many life/death situations.

**Hotstreak's Crosover stories**: Can't really answer your question, that would ruin the fun.

**MEleeSmasher**: Never said she'd be a Soul Reaper, but like I said in the section above, she isn't gone for good.

**general zargon**: Yup, that was it.

**lijuan**: In what world would you possible expect me to answer a question that would basically spoil a very foreseeable conflict in this story? I took your review 'question' from Ch.15 as you just thinking/typing out loud since you added 'going to be complicated!' Either way, your question is just something I won't answer.

**Discarab**: Tough to say, I'm not really sure. If I had to say which would win in a fight, Ichigo's fully hollowfied form, but kill, I don't know… which may sound odd, but that's just how I feel about that fight xD.

**G3neSyS**: If it was all of his spirit energy, yes, and he didn't use his full amount of spirit energy.

**Alanis Strife**: Spiritual energy effecting people? Well… I won't say that could _never_ happen in the future, but it isn't effecting anyone now.

**Matsuki Sakata**: Depends on your definition of soon, but I'd say not, they won't fight soon. Also, on the hollow, he really isn't capable of doing anything unless Ichigo's guard is down, really. In the past, before he had his mask, the hollow just slowly whittled him down, but after he achieved the ability to use his mask, he dominated his hollow. However, I have also said that he doesn't have the mask at the moment, but then again I still can't say just what I have planned for Hollow Ichigo ;P

**ben 10.000**: No, I am NOT saying it won't appear. I won't confirm that it will though since _if_ I were to have it appear, it wouldn't be in the near future.


	18. Bring Down the Moon

**A/N The next chapter will be posted next Friday, that's really all I have to say. **

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 18 **

_**Rocky Shoreline of the Island, Some Time Later…**_

The group had gathered outside the former resting place of the demon Deliora. Ichigo had thus far been informed what had happened during his fight with Zalty, mainly the fight that occurred with Lyon and what Lucy and Erza had been up to.

When Erza did show up with the blonde after Lyon's final defeat, he could have sworn Natsu almost jumped out of his skin. Actually the dragon slayer foolishly tried to run away.

Working back to the matter at hand, it seemed that Lyon, for all of his arrogance, and all of his talk of surpassing Ur, was nothing but a lost child. Perhaps his heart and head were in the wrong place, but he seemed to have good intentions in the end.

In fact, the entirety of those who followed him did so with a very specific reason. His lackeys weren't cruel, they just believed in him more than anything else, and he really had no choice other than to do the same. A man who sought out to defeat a demon and get retribution for all the lives it had taken. All in all it was a rather noble goal.

It was also a definite positive that Erza hadn't exploded in anger as of yet, which was a good sign that perhaps she had cooled down a bit. However given that a demon was defeated and the Moon Drip ceremony would no longer continue she couldn't complain about all that much.

"Alright, we won!" Natsu cheered.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

"You think the master will let us up to the second floor now?" Lucy asked excitedly.

"Ehem…" A sound came.

Everyone directed their eyes towards a once again angry-looking Erza Scarlet, whose glare and accompanying scowl caused everyone save for Ichigo to pale and sweat. Evidently she hadn't quite forgotten her reason for being here, but it would have been very wishful thinking to assume that she would lose track of her primary goal.

"You're still going to punish us, aren't you?" Lucy asked fearfully.

"I believe you are forgetting something." Erza stated.

"What are you talkin' about Erza?" Gray questioned in a confused tone.

"I think what she's saying is that the villagers are still being affected by the curse. Remember what Lucy's spirit said? It was the effect of the Moon Drip, and just because that ceremony is no longer going on doesn't mean the effects just instantly vanish." Ichigo explained, having known this was the case. Still, by this point he had figured it out.

The energy from the Moon Drip was the very same that he was sensing from the moon the first night they had arrived, and when he discovered what the ceremony was he had assumed that it was the reason his senses were even worse off than they usually were. However, even though the Moon Drip was stopped and Deliora was gone, his senses were still the exact same, meaning there was something on the island, or more specifically around it that was causing both the curse and his lack of perception.

"Exactly, even with Deliora gone the magical energy from the Moon Drip is what is still causing the villagers to take on their appearance." Erza stated, sounding somewhat surprised that her comrade had deduced that much.

"Still, how do we… wait, hey Lyon, do you know how to fix it?" Gray inquired, turning to look at his once again friend with a hopeful voice.

"To be honest I don't have a clue." Lyon replied honestly.

"You don't know?" Natsu asked in a tone of disbelief.

"What?" Happy uttered.

"But they told us that the curse started when you guys got here." Lucy countered.

"When we first got here three years ago, we were aware that there was a village somewhere on this island, but we had absolutely no reason to communicate with the villagers so we left them alone, and they never came to the temple to see what we were up to." Lyon explained.

"In three years you never once met?" Erza questioned, sounding as if she was deep in thought.

'_Hang on… if that's the case… then maybe…_' Ichigo thought.

"Wait, but how can that be? The Moon Drip shines so brightly that you can see it from practically anywhere on the island. It doesn't make sense that they would never once investigate." Lucy mused.

"The villagers weren't transformed by the Moon Drip, it doesn't affect the human body." Lyon replied.

"What?" Most everyone exclaimed confusedly.

That response, however, caused something to click inside Ichigo's brain. The conclusion it brought him to was really disturbing, but nevertheless nothing else made sense. It was undeniably true that the Moon Drip didn't affect humans, which meant only one thing.

"That doesn't make sense." Natsu stated matter-of-factly.

"Actually it makes perfect sense… think about it. Lyon and the others have been here for three years and have been exposed to the light from the Moon Drip just as long." Ichigo reasoned.

"Yes, that's precisely correct. However I wouldn't trust the villagers, they're hiding something." Lyon said.

"And I know what it is…" Ichigo trailed off, surprising most everyone present.

"Wait, what?!" Natsu exclaimed.

'_So he managed to figure it out… impressive. In fact he may have even beaten me to it._' Erza thought, however she didn't find it pleasant to know that this may have been the case. In many ways it was rather impressive if he had actually figured out the secret of the 'curse'.

'_Wait… aren't I supposed to be upset with him over this?!_' Erza realized, though before she was able to do anything the orange-haired teen opted to wisely, albeit unknowingly so, offer a necessary course of action.

"It's kinda creepy… but we better just see for ourselves. Come on, we still have to finish this job, right?" Ichigo reasoned before he began to walk off.

"Hey wait, what about this guy?!" Natsu shouted.

"Leave him be Natsu…" Erza ordered, after which she too began to head off.

"But he…" Natsu began to protest.

The scarlet-haired night only needed to direct a single glare at her comrade before he opted to run towards the village so far that you'd think he was using flash step. Gray, however, decided to stay behind, opting to speak to the formerly known Cold Emperor one final time.

"What're you looking at?" Lyon lightly growled, obviously still not being on the greatest of terms with the other half that made up Ur's former students.

"I know you don't want to hear it, but you really should join a guild… you'd make more friends, make new rivals, and maybe even find a new dream to work for." Gray stated.

The silver-haired teen adopted a surprised expression, and he even released a quiet gasp. It was truly something to know that even after all he had done, the first friend that he could say he ever had still looked out for him. Still, he wasn't going to let Gray know that he cared to that degree, and so he just grunted dismissively before speaking.

"Whatever, just go away, I don't want to see you." Lyon scoffed, though his words clearly a petty attempt at hiding what he truly wished to say.

"Alright…" Gray replied, walking off with a genuine smile on his face.

'_Gray… perhaps you were right. It is good to know that despite our differences… we still seem to be friends. Thank you… for everything that you've done here._' Lyon thought, a lone tear dripping from his right eye.

_**Outskirts of the Village**_

The Fairy Tail members had arrived at what they thought to be the remnants of the village in a rather speedy time. However, there was definitely something different about the village when they returned.

It wasn't that it was missing anything, rather it currently wasn't missing a single thing whatsoever. The crater that resulted from the acid had been completely filled and each and every single building was exactly where it had been. Even the wall was back up around the village's perimeter and a series of fires were lit within.

'_It's the same as it was before anything happened… but how is that possible?_' Ichigo wondered.

"The village is… i-its back to normal…" Gray thought aloud.

"What the hell happened?!" Natsu exclaimed confusedly.

"Let's go find out." Erza said.

'_It's like someone reset everything, but that would mean that…_' Ichigo thought as they continued to walk towards the settlement.

He didn't even get to finish his mental sentence before his eyes widened out of pure shock. The one and only person that was capable of doing something like this was a man he presumed to be their enemy.

By the time he had reached the settlement, not even Ichigo could come up with a reason as to why the time magic user would restore the village. He didn't think of himself as a genius by any means, but he still considered himself to be intelligent. Thus it bothered him that he couldn't figure it out.

"Moka, what happened to the village? Last I checked it was like almost completely destroyed." Natsu questioned, sounding absolutely lost.

"We don't understand it ourselves, but it would appear that our village has somehow been restored." Moka replied, sounding equally as confused.

"Still it's really good that everything is back to how it originally was." Lucy reasoned.

"Yes… while it is indeed odd, I suppose that…" Erza began, though she was forced to stop midsentence.

Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard then made the same mistake that Natsu and Ichigo had made just a day prior. Just as the village was returned back to the way it once was, a certain concealed pitfall was also put back into place. Sadly, the redheaded knight didn't really know about it and, as a result, fell directly into the 'trap'.

"AAAH!" Erza squealed girlishly, falling down the pit as was the original intent of the trap, though its target was once again incorrect.

"She screamed like a girl…" Natsu said in awe.

"And it was… cute…" Gray added.

"She doesn't have to know who made that trap, right?" Lucy slightly pleaded.

"Erza, you okay?" Ichigo asked, being the only one to do so given that everyone else's minds seemed occupied by something else.

The scarlet-haired woman climbed out of the pit and dusted off her skirt, not looking rattled in the slightest despite what had just happened to her. Actually, she appeared even calmer than prior for some reason.

"I am fine. Right now, however, we need to get back to the matter at hand." Erza replied.

"Oh yeah… about the curse, right?" Natsu recalled.

"Speaking of which, when are you gonna blow up the moon?" One of the villagers questioned urgently.

"Yes, that is the only way we can be cured. We do appreciate the fact that you saved our village and defeated those awful people, but still we must insist that you complete the job we have requested of you." Moka said.

Most of the Fairy Taill wizards present stared at the villagers with deadpanned expressions due to the fact that they were still insisting on such a ridiculous course of action. However, it remained true that while Deliora was gone and the Moon Drip was stopped, the apparent 'curse' still remained.

"You're wrong by saying that we need to blow up the moon…" Ichigo called out, surprising everyone present save for the only other person who actually knew the meaning of his words. Well, the only one visibly present, anyway.

Off in the shadows, and unbeknownst to those in the village, a masked man looked down at the group with a smirk on 'his' face. It appeared that the orange-haired teen was smart enough to figure out the faux-curse after all. At the same time it remained to be seen what exactly he would do about it.

"So you really did figure it out?" Erza inquired with a small smirk.

"What're you talking about?" Natsu asked confusedly.

"Yeah, tell us, tell us!" Happy chirped.

"Well… it'll just be easier to show you." Ichigo replied.

Without bothering to directly answer anyone's questions he bent his knees before he jumped high into the air. He didn't stop, however, as he continued to fly higher and higher into the sky, his body just becoming a spec at this point.

"He can fly as well?" Erza asked in a surprised voice, looking at the orange-haired teen's rapidly fading form with widened eyes.

"Yup." Happy simply replied, nodding as he did so.

Ichigo stopped his flight path the second he believed himself to be close enough to what it was that he desired to hit. With this in mind, he cocked back his sword and began to raise his spiritual energy to the necessary heights. He didn't know quite how strong the attack needed to be in order to successfully do as it was needed, but there was no chance firing a more powerful version could backfire if all he was doing was shooting at thin air.

Zangetsu erupted in a flare of light blue spiritual energy, shining so brightly and brilliantly that those who had yet to see it, and even several who had, were completely taken by a sense of awe. Despite his distance, the attacks power was still very evident.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo shouted, swinging his zanpakuto forward in a slashing motion at the purple moon.

A large wave of blue spiritual energy poured forth from the blade, covering a large amount of the sky and heading directly towards what everyone believed to be the source of the village's problems.

"He's not actually trying to blow up the moon… is he?" Lucy questioned, being somewhat serious.

"Ichigo did say he didn't need to…" Gray replied, though he was clearly unconvinced given what was playing out right before his eyes.

"But he aimed it at the moon." Natsu commented.

"Just watch." Erza simply stated, smirking as she saw the impressive attack continue in its path.

"He… he's really doing it!" Several of the villagers cheered, smiling up as the bright light of the Getsuga approached the orbiting mass of rock.

The attack seemed to make contact with something as a massive explosion made itself apparent directly where the purple moon had been. Smoke and light bits of fire covered the area for a brief moment, but shortly thereafter everyone was able to see that the moon was gone, or at least the corrupted version thereof.

Before the very eyes of everyone present, a large hole currently took the place of the purple moon, through which the normal bright glow of the actual moon shined through. Shortly thereafter cracks began to stretch forth from the freshly created opening, subsequently after which all across the island the sound of shattering glass could be heard.

It gave off the appearance that a barrier of some kind had just been destroyed, and as a result of this the purple moon was simply gone, erased from the night sky in no less than an instant. From the continuously shattering dome, magical particles rained down all over the island, shocking most everyone who say them.

"The moon's still there!" Someone exclaimed.

Ichigo appeared on the ground with his sword once again sheathed and a neutral expression on his face. Most of the villagers looked at him with grateful eyes, simply believing that without the purple moon, the curse would vanish just like that.

"Wait… what just happened?" Natsu questioned confusedly.

"The island was surrounded by some kind of barrier that was created by the Moon Drip. I had been wondering for some time why my senses were so terrible while on this island, and that's how I knew it existed. Also, since it's gone now, the villagers should no longer be exposed to the light from the Moon Drip and as a result they will become normal again." Ichigo explained.

"Then we will finally be human again!" Moka cheered excitedly.

"Not quite…" Ichigo commented, once again drawing many confused looks.

"Now I'm as lost as flame brain over here." Gray commented.

"It would appear that you've figured that out as well. I am very impressed, Ichigo. The villagers are indeed cured, but they aren't human. If that were the case then the Moon Drip wouldn't have initially affected them. However, it did in fact cause anomalies in their physical appearance because they are all actually demons." Erza explained.

"What?!" Many of the villagers shouted in a surprised tone. They may or may not have been joined by Lucy, Happy, Natsu, and Gray.

"One thing I don't get though… why would they take the form of humans with some demons limbs? I'd think that if they were really just demons then they would take on a completely human appearance as opposed to just a mostly-human one." Ichigo said.

"Well that is the case because they are demons who have the ability to take on human forms. It is also because of this that there memories were distorted and they began to actually believe they were humans who had been turned into demons, and not the other way around." Erza replied.

"Wait… were we really?" Someone asked.

"You guys seriously couldn't remember something that important?!" Ichigo exclaimed in an annoyed tone. That really wasn't something you should ever really forget. It would like him taking on his soul form and forgetting that he was actually still a living human.

"Well it's hard to remember… and we all just get so confused when we try…" Another replied.

"That does mean that the curse is lifted though… and with this our suffering will at least end." Moka stated firmly and happily.

"Well, well, looks like you guys managed to do it after all. I knew I could count on ya." A familiar voice stated cheerfully from behind the group.

"That voice…" Lucy trailed off as she turned to face the new arrival.

"Bobo?!" Moka uttered out of sheer surprise.

"It's the boat guy!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Aye!" Happy said in a startled tone.

In the air directly to their front a demonic version of the man who had sailed them to Galuna Island hovered in place, flapping his wings with a wide smile etched on his face. Still, his presence did mean that he hadn't been a ghost, which truly did shock Gray and Lucy given that this is what they were assuming up until this point.

"I knew he wasn't a ghost… otherwise I would've sensed something." Ichigo thought aloud.

"I really hope you kids can forgive me for not tellin' ya the truth about the island. You see I was the only one without any memory loss so I had to get outta here. I knew I was a demon, but everyone else suddenly thought they were cursed humans, hahahahaha." Bobo said.

"Bobo…" Moka trialed off.

The tribal leader then sprouted his demon wings and flew towards his son with tears in his eyes and streaming down his cheek. Without giving it a second thought, he happily embraced his one and only son in the air.

"I'm so glad ya finally snapped out of it pops." Bobo said happily, returning the embrace immediately thereafter.

Almost all at once the gaggle of demons decided to join their tribal chief and his finally returned son, smiles on their faces and nothing but an aura of relief about their presence.

"Well now doesn't this warm your heart… kinda…" Lucy mused. They were still demons so there was a little bit of an oddity factor involved, but still it was touching.

_**Galuna Island: Village, Some Time Later…**_

Thus far the islanders had opted to throw a part in celebration of their 'curse' finally being lifted. Natsu and Happy were currently gulping down large amounts of food, but many of the demons were as well so it wasn't entirely out of place, and Lucy and Erza stood off to the side conversing in what appeared to be a pleasant manner.

Ichigo, however, currently sat with Gray in an effort to see how he was doing. The ice mage didn't say anything, but he could pick up on the fact that both he and Lyon had come to a better understanding of one another, but he had personal experience with making friends with people he had once called enemies.

"So your friend Lyon, you think he'll really join a guild?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't know… I think so. More importantly I understand a little bit of what he was trying to do, and I got him to realize why it was wrong." Gray replied.

"Was he the first person you could call a friend?" Ichigo questioned in a serious voice.

The abrupt inquiry took the ice wizard by surprise, but after just a moment of thought he knew the answer. Technically Ur was the person he would consider as his first friend, but as his former teacher he didn't think of her as a friend first, more along the lines of a mother figure.

"Yeah… I guess he was. At least he's the first one I can remember." Gray replied solemnly.

It actually came as a source of comfort that this was true. For the longest time he had thought that his relationship with Lyon had gotten to a state of beyond repair due to Ur's passing, but today he was proven incorrect.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask you something. Why didn't you take out Lyon the first time on your own? I get the feeling you could've taken him easy, so why?" Gray questioned.

"It wasn't my place to." Ichigo answered simply.

"Just because we knew each other you thought it had to be me?" Gray uttered confusedly, likely due to his lack of understanding the logic.

"No, that wasn't the reason. Well… kinda, but still not entirely. When I saw how you looked at the Cold Emperor for the first time, I understood that you knew who he was underneath that mask. When I heard you speak to him for the first time, I knew the two of you had something connecting you, but I didn't know if it was a rivalry, a deep seeded hatred, or something else entirely. However, it was when I saw you challenge him that I knew you cared enough about that person to want to change their mind." Ichigo explained.

"You got all of that just by how I acted?" Gray asked, sounding both surprised and impressed.

"I know the feeling about fighting someone in an attempt to change their mind… so I guess just call it a personal experience that let me realize what exactly was going on." Ichigo replied.

Both sat in silence for a time, both just thinking on what was just said. The raven-haired teen actually felt quite good about all that had been accomplished thus far. Still, he did wonder one thing, and he chose to voice it.

"Then do you think… that I did the right thing?" Gray asked in an unsure tone.

"His heart and head were in two different places, and whenever that happens it's never a good thing. He did mean well, but in the end he needed you to show him why he was wrong. That was what you needed to do, and it's what you ended up choosing to do. So, yeah, you did the right thing." Ichigo replied.

"That's good… I'm glad I didn't mess up like Natsu usually does." Gray said with an amused chuckle, a genuine smile coming onto his lips.

"Hey, Natsu doesn't mess up when it counts." Ichigo replied, returning the gesture with a small smile of his own.

"Maybe, but he messes up a lot." Gray stated.

_**With Lucy and Erza…**_

"Those two seem to be getting along really well." Lucy observed, staring over at two of their group's conversing members.

"Indeed… Gray needed someone to talk to about this, and Ichigo seems to be able to connect with him on this issue. I don't know why, but I am truly happy that he seems to know how to deal with this situation." Erza replied, smiling as she did so. She could always be angry at him when the two were done talking, after all.

"When does he ever not know what to do?" Lucy asked jokingly, laughing slightly as she spoke.

Though her words held a humorous intent, the meaning and truth behind them weren't lost to the scarlet-haired wizard. Actually, because they had thus far been proven true, her smile increased in size.

'_While I am still furious… I can't deny that he's really… just something else._' Erza thought.

In actuality Ichigo had proven to be somewhat of a godsend, which was even more ironic if you took into consideration the fact that he literally appeared from the sky out of nowhere and that he came from a different world. Had he not been here on the island, perhaps everything wouldn't have turned out quite the way it did.

Moreover, he was extremely capable in terms of fighting ability and intellect, something not many members of Fairy Tail had. Natsu had both in special circumstances, as did Gray, but overall they weren't able to fully think things through. In fact, it had been Ichigo who initially discovered what the curse really was.

At this point her mind drifted to one fact that she had only truly just taken into consideration. Ichigo was a fresh addition to their guild, someone that had only recently met her acquaintance not even a week ago. Yet somehow it felt as if he had been in Fairy Tail as long as she had and that they had known each other for ages. That had never happened before with any other individual that had ever entered the guild.

Considering this, the redheaded woman released a small content sigh. This man really was incredible, and yet he made it look so easy. Perhaps with his strength and intellect he was worthy of the title of S-Class mage. Factoring in who he was as a person, then another potential title that was a little more closely related to Erza herself that no man had ever held in the history of time thus far was a distinct possibility. If one this incredible couldn't be a candidate, she didn't know who could.

"I can't think of a time…" Erza finally replied.

_**With Gray and Ichigo…**_

"Oh come on, you have to admit it's ironic that you blew up the purple moon with a sword named Zangetsu." Gray said in a cheerful tone.

"Yeah, I guess that's true… but technically I didn't blow up the moon." Ichigo countered.

"Sure looked like it to me… Lucy almost had a heart attack, and Natsu almost died laughing at the look on her face." Gray stated, chuckling at the memory of the blonde essentially freaking out.

The ice mage didn't find it quite as funny as Natsu did at the time it was happening, but in retrospect it was pretty funny since the moon wasn't really destroyed. He'd never admit that he, even for a moment, ever believed Ichigo was actually going to destroy the lunar body.

"Hey you two…" A voice cooed from nearby, taking the two out of the conversation they had been having.

A group of many female demons of many different skin colors walked up to the Fairy Tail wizards with smiles on their faces.

"Hello ladies, how are you?" Ichigo greeted in a somewhat friendly tone, obviously not wanting to be rude. These people were being very hospitable and he preferred not to shrug that off.

"We're doing quite well thanks to you two… by the way, are you feeling better, Gray?" One of the demons asked.

"I guess so… um, do I know you?" Gray asked.

The female demon giggled in a girlish fashion briefly before she took on a human appearance. She was none other than the dark-haired girl he had seen that very morning upon waking up right before he was sent to meet up with Erza.

"Betcha don't recognize us when we're not in human form, huh?" The demon taking the form of a human asked in a somewhat disappointed fashion.

"Just so that you know, all the girls in our village think you two are like the coolest guys ever!" Another female demon stated with a blush on her cheeks.

"Yeah, she's right. We think your both super-hot!" Another squealed, causing both of the Fairy Tail guild members to blush slightly at the compliment.

"I bet you think we look cuter as humans, don't you?" Another slightly accused, though obviously she hoped this wasn't the case.

"That's not necessarily true… I think you all look great the way you are." Gray replied.

"What about you?" One of the girls questioned, looking to the teen that had yet to answer.

"Not really… I mean, what's on the inside is all that counts, and I'd never ask anyone to change how they look for me." Ichigo stated in an honest tone.

"Oh my gosh, you are like the sweetest guy ever!" Several squealed girlishly.

_**With Erza and Lucy…**_

"Wow, looks like those two are pretty popular with the ladies… don't you think?" Lucy said, giggling as she finished.

When no one responded to her question she turned to her right in order to see where her companion had gone. However, she was currently nowhere to be seen and she hadn't even heard her move in the first place.

"Erza?" Lucy called out in a confused tone, turning every way she could in search of her scarlet hair.

_**Back with Ichigo and Gray…**_

"Why don't you two come with us? We can teach you a few of our dances…" One of the demons offered with a large smile plastered onto her face.

"That's not all we can teach you." Another cooed with a sly smirk.

Both Ichigo and Gray blushed at this, but only one of them would end up having to endure the company of the female demons. A certain orange-haired substitute was destined for technically a far worse fate.

"Sorry ladies, but I am borrowing this one for the time being." Erza stated matter-of-factly, grabbing the collar of the Substitute Soul Reaper to illustrate who she had been referring to.

"Wait, what are…" Ichigo began, only to be dragged off by a seemingly annoyed redheaded woman before he could finish.

"Awww, I was looking forward to a dance… I didn't know he already had a girlfriend." One of the girls pouted.

'_Hah, that's a good one._' Gray mentally chuckled.

The implication that Fairy Tail's Titania was incapable of romantic feelings was very much so a cruel joke to make, but it was still something that most perceived as reality. Still, he didn't want to make any more trouble for Ichigo given all that he had done for him today, and thus the ice make user kept his mouth shut for the time being.

_**With Erza and Ichigo…**_

The redheaded knight took her seat by a table and placed the man she had just dragged off directly to her side. She said nothing and began to gather a plate of food from the large feast in front of her, but because she did this Ichigo could only look at her with an expression of disbelief.

'_Was what she just did normal to her?!_' Ichigo wondered.

He waited for a moment to see if his weapon-friendly comrade would notice his evident desire to hear an explanation, and sadly it too a minute or so before she had actually chosen to say anything.

"Is something the matter?" Erza asked evenly.

"Um… why the hell did you just do that?" Ichigo questioned, clarifying his confusion.

Somewhat to his surprise, Erza turned her cheek and directed her vision back towards the food in front of her, giving off the appearance that she wasn't going to give an answer. That, however, wasn't the case as it was an attempt to hide the slight amount of blush on her cheeks, which she ended up doing successfully but this was again at the risk of seemingly slightly distant.

"I desired company to eat with and I seem to have lost track of Lucy. Moreover I desired to talk to you." Erza finally replied, a blush still evident on her cheeks if one were close enough to her face.

"What about?" Ichigo inquired, guessing that whatever it was it had to be important. The scarlet-haired woman was a serious person by nature, so he would find it hard to believe it this didn't end up being the case.

"First of all… you are most certainly _not_ off the hook…" Erza began, he tone possessing a slight edge.

"…Crap." Ichigo mumbled beneath his breath, having forgotten that the redheaded teen was likely furious.

"However… I understand perfectly why Natsu and Lucy went on this mission, and to a degree why Gray decided to go along with it. I wish to know why you, given your current situation, decided to break one of the guilds most important rules." Erza explained.

The orange-haired teen winced slightly at the tone and choice of words his assumed friend had used, but still it was only natural for her to desire to know such a thing.

Erza, on the other hand, knew perfectly well what his answer would be due to Gray having informed her some time ago. Still, she needed an excuse for her pervious actions and it never hurt to be thorough in determining someone's motivation.

'_Yes… that sounds like a plausible excuse._' Erza thought.

"It wasn't for the status or the reward, it was because I couldn't ignore what was happening. Protecting people who aren't able to do it themselves is just who I am, and I wasn't willing to turn a blind eye after I found out it was really that horrible. In the end, I guess everything worked out, but I won't apologize for my actions. Some things are simply more important than following rules." Ichigo said firmly.

The scarlet-haired knight smiled at his words and her eyes took up a softened look to them. It was exactly the answer she had expected to hear, and the one in truth that she desired to hear. Still, she couldn't let him know that or see that she was pleased with what he had done for obvious reasons.

"So long as you don't do such a thing again I suppose I will not remain upset with you. However, I expect you to at the very least make up for your conduct by taking our match seriously." Erza stated, sounding remarkably authoritative despite the smile and soft look to her eyes. She did have a lot of practice in her usual 'do as I say or I will hurt you' tone of voice, after all.

"Alright then…" Ichigo trailed off, inwardly happy that this situation hadn't caused a rift between the two. Taking a fight seriously was a very small price to pay for that, and in all honesty he had intended to take their match seriously in the beginning.

_**Outside the Village…**_

A masked man sat perched atop a tree with a smirk evident on his face as he gazed upon the village. An orb was currently floating in front of him as it glowed, acting as a visual transference device to a location that one might not typically expect and to a person that people would suspect even less.

"Are you seeing all of this, sir?" Zalty asked.

"Yes… you can take off that ridiculous mask now, Ultear." Seigrain permitted from the other side of the crystal.

The 'man' took off the mask a second later, almost immediately after which his appearance shifted to that of a young woman and a member of the Magic Council no less. A smirk was still etched on her features, though it appeared far more playful and ominous than it did on her male alter-ego.

"Thank you, it was getting quite stuffy." Ultear replied.

"Tell me something… why did you restore the village?" Seigrain questioned.

"Because I happen to be a nice person." Ultear replied with a small but joking smile.

"Yes… some might say to nice. Those Fairy Tail wizards, they could pose a threat to our plans if left unchecked." Seigrain stated.

"Indeed… and that Ichigo Kurosaki boy is really quite interesting." Ultear said, gazing predatorily at the form of the orange-haired teen as he sat next to Fairy Tail's Titania.

"I agree completely. In fact, when you return, I desire to speak with you about him." Seigrain said.

The dark-haired woman's expression became one of slight surprise, but before she could ask anything on the subject the transmission was cut. Upon this happening, she had the temptation to break the crystal, restore it to its original form, and then break it again. It was a combination of both being left out of the loop while simultaneously having one of her 'playthings' being under Seigrain's watch.

'_That naïve fool wouldn't know how to use a man of such potential… still, he isn't the one who is pulling the strings in the grand scheme of things._' Ultear thought, smirking to herself.

_**Galuna Island: Village, The Next Morning…**_

"Are you positive that you don't wish to take the money?" Moka questioned confusedly.

Currently, he and the rest of his village stood before Erza Scarlet and the rest of her companions. They had just offered them the reward for a job well done, but it was refused for what seemed to them to be a ludicrous reason.

"Why doesn't she take the money?" Lucy whined.

"I don't really care about that too much…" Natsu thought aloud.

"Aye." Happy nodded, just being content with two things. One, Ichigo still owed him fish so he was good on food. Two, they did manage to help the villagers a great deal and that in it of itself was a decent reward given their position.

"Why don't you seem to care about the reward, Ichigo?" Gray asked. He knew that helping people was all well and good, but still he wondered if there was something else to it for the orange-haired teen.

"I'm used to not being rewarded for stuff like this." Ichigo replied uncaringly.

Saving Rukia, Orihime, stopping Aizen and then Ginjo, these were things he didn't necessarily get rewarded for, but that wouldn't stop him from doing each of them again in a heartbeat.

"Wow, that sucks." Natsu commented jokingly.

"Sorry, but doing so would be a violation of our guild's rules." Erza finally replied, though she smiled at the kindness the demons were ironically showing.

"I see… well perhaps we can offer you the gate key? You did save our village and cure us of the curse, so you at least deserve that much." Moka slightly pleaded.

"We will accept the key that you have offered, but as for the ride I believe we are fine." Erza replied, though her words confused her comrades.

"Wait, what how are we…" Ichigo began.

A loud horn from a nearby boat of all things sounded off, directing the attention of the Fairy Tail members and the villagers to it. The crewmembers of the vessel were evidently waving in a friendly manner to Erza, which only serviced to add to everyone current confusion.

"We're leaving on a boat?!" Natsu exclaimed, prompting Ichigo to sigh. Evidently the dragon slayer had once again considered swimming to be an option.

_**Era: Seigrain's Chambers **_

Ultear walked towards the blue-haired man's desk with a neutral expression on her face. Normally she'd be at least somewhat cheerful, but given that this conversation held the potential to end poorly for the future plans of her own guild, and by extension herself, she wasn't in a very cheery mood.

"You wanted to speak to me about Ichigo Kurosaki?" Ultear questioned in a calm voice.

"My, my, aren't you one to get right to the point?" Seigrain stated with a small chuckle.

"That's not true, I…" Ultear said, raising her voice slightly though she stopped midsentence.

She made to defensively hold up her arms, but her ribcage began to ache as a result of the sudden gesture. This wasn't unnoticed by the esteemed councilmen whose chambers she currently stood, and thus he decided to inquire upon the evident pain his subordinate was experiencing.

"Are you alright? You seem injured…" Seigrain reasoned, taking note that the dark-haired woman was rubbing her left ribs and giving off a slightly pained expression.

"An after effect of my fight with Ichigo Kurosaki." Ultear replied, sounding a little more cheerful in an attempt to ward off suspicion of her immediate desire to get to the subject of the meeting.

"Hahaha, that's a bit of a delayed reaction, don't you agree?" Seigrain jibbed.

"I'm glad our confrontation has left you so amused. Now I believe you had a reason for calling me here, sir." Ultear said in her usual tone of voice.

"Why yes I did. I want to know your honest opinion of Ichigo Kurosaki. Natsu Dragneel has already begun to burn brightly just as I had hoped, but this man is quite literally an otherworldly enigma. Please shed some light on him for me." Siegrain requested.

"He is a powerful opponent." Ultear replied almost instantly and in a tone of deadly seriousness.

"Oh? Care to explain?" Seigrain questioned, hiding his surprise at the woman's response.

It was very rare for Ultear to respond so seriously about anything, let alone something as trivial as fighting. On top of that, she was also a powerful wizard herself, which only went to show just how distinct of an impression Ichigo Kurosaki had left on her.

"His speed is beyond most anything I have ever seen. Moreover, his physical strength is impressive, and he appears to have a great amount of spiritual energy, as he would put it. Given that I have been lead to believe it is more powerful than magical energy, this should suffice to say we are dealing with someone easily on our level." Ultear replied.

That was somewhat of a white lie. She knew perfectly well that he was easily on Seigrain's level, but whether he was truly capable of fighting her and the company she kept remained to be seen. Still, she'd find out eventually how deep his powers ran.

"Now that is interesting…" Seigrain trailed off, sounding deep in thought.

"What is it you plan to do?" Ultear inquired evenly.

"For now, nothing. Ichigo Kurosaki has proven himself to be a valuable piece in my little game, and for the time being I merely wish to see what else he has in store for our little world." Seigrain replied with a wide smirk.

"As you wish…" Ultear replied, giving a light bow as she did so. This was, however, more of an attempt at hiding the content smirk on her face. It would have been a problem for her prospective plans if the blue-haired man had chosen to take direct action and outright attempt to remove him from the 'game', as he would say.

**A/N Only thing to add is that the next chapter will be posted next Friday. **

_**Explanations**_:

**Ultear/Seigrain**: Ironically enough, both will develop plans which will have Ichigo playing quite the role, though for really, really different reasons. Still, expect for the two to, of course secretly, not see eye to eye on just how his strength should be taken into consideration.

_**Reviews**_:

**Pokemaster94**: Don't know exactly xD

**DarkPirateKing69**: It was just to keep it less complicated for the story.

**GirlFish**: Yes, so far he hasn't show his real strength but he eventually will.

**KratosTheGodofWar**: That probably will not end up being a chapter.

**cellum95**: Hmm, if by that you mean will there be the Fairy Tail filler arcs, no, they won't be featured.


	19. Punishment, The Egg, and The Rain

**A/N Okay, so to start off, this chapter is LONG, by far the longest so far in this story and probably bordering along the lines of the second longest I have ever written. However, it encompasses a lot so I like how it turned out. Oh, there's information on the pairing and stuff at the bottom, meaning I will NOW reveal who it will be, BUT, that doesn't mean you should skip to the bottom. Trust me when I say you should just read the chapter first like usual ;P**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 19 **

_**Magnolia: Roar Leading up to Fairy Tail **_

"Thank god we're back on dry land!" Natsu said gratefully, a wide smile etched on his face.

"You can stop saying that now. We got off the ship like forever ago." Gray commented.

"Shut up Gray! After being that motion sick for that long I'll say it however many times I want!" Natsu shouted, a tick mark popping out of his head.

"What's gotten into you?" Lucy asked, noticing that the dragon slayer seemed more annoyed than usual.

"He's probably just mad because we didn't get any money." Happy reasoned.

"Well it was a lot of money…" Gray mused.

"And all we got out of it was a dumb gate key." Natsu grumbled.

"Hey, it isn't stupid! The gold ones are really rare too!" Lucy shouted defensively.

"Well I'm sorry, but since we didn't ever officially accept the job I we couldn't even if we wanted to." Erza replied.

"The reward doesn't really matter in the end. All in all I think it worked out okay." Ichigo stated.

"Plus we didn't go out totally empty handed." Lucy said cheerfully.

"That's easy for you to say, you actually got a reward." Happy pointed out.

"Does that really matter though?" Ichigo countered.

The object was, after all, just a gate key that the blonde would use for her magic. It wasn't as if she intended to sell it or anything.

"You all seem so carefree… it's as if you've forgotten what awaits you when we get back to the guild." Erza thought aloud.

"WHAT?!" They exclaimed fearfully, turning instantly to face the esteemed female S-Class wizard.

The only one who remained calm and uncaring was Ichigo, who just stood within his normal human form with his traditional expression. Everyone else, however, was much less calm. Natsu's skin went pale, Lucy almost jumped out of her own skin, and Gray looked like he swallowed his throat, as impossible as that seemed to be.

"But everything worked out in the end." Lucy countered.

"Yeah, so why would we be punished for doing a good job?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"You're right, it did work out, but the only reason the job was completed in the end was because Ichigo figured out what was happening and dealt with what the job had originally requested of our guild. However, stealing an S-Class quest is still a major offense and you will not get off the hook simply because you were capable of completing it." Erza stated.

"We said we were sorry…" Lucy said in a voice just above a whisper.

"If you apologize for your actions and promise not to do it again, then I see no reason for the guild to take action. However I do not have a say in the matter as the decision of your punishment will be left to the master." Erza replied.

"Then there won't be any problem at all!" Natsu chirped.

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that… you may have been able to get out of tough spots like this in the past, Natsu, but I'd just love to see you talk your way out of this one." Erza stated, chuckling somewhat evilly at the thought of how that particular conversation would go. Needless to say, it wouldn't end well for Natsu, and the dragon slayer knew that perfectly well at this point in time.

"We're screwed…" Natsu uttered fearfully.

"Yup." Gray said in agreement.

"But why?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"You three really should relax…" Ichigo began calmly, causing his fellow guild mates to look towards him once more.

"How can we relax?!" Natsu exclaimed, knowing full well that his redheaded friend would likely murder him the second they entered the guildhall.

"The way I see it, everything _did_ work out as best as it could. It's also arguable that even if Erza hadn't shown up we still could've finished the request pretty easily. Moreover, the reason that no one but S-Class wizards are allowed to go on these requests in the first place is because they have a high chance of dying and as a result the mission isn't likely to be completed, right? Well we made it back alive and even dealt with something that wasn't in the job request itself pretty easily." Ichigo listed off.

He didn't care about a punishment for his actions, but if everyone else was nearly jumping out of their respective skins he figured he should at least show why they would get off rather easily, or at least presumably so.

Everyone present just looked at the substitute with wide eyes and mouths slightly agape, save for Erza who scowled at him with her hands crossed under her breasts. She knew perfectly well that such an argument would hold water with the master, and that meant the slightest chance that Natsu would be allowed to get off the hook.

In all honesty she didn't really want to others to be punished, but the dragon slayer needed to be taught a lesson immediately, due to the severity of his actions. If there was a chance he would successfully get off scot-free, that would mean something similar to recent events would repeat themselves in the future.

"See, I don't need to talk my way out of it cuz' Ichigo will do it for me!" Natsu said excitedly.

"Hell no! You got yourself into this mess, you can dig yourself out of it. I'm just saying we won't be kicked out of the guild all things considered, but that doesn't mean you should get away with stealing the damn job request in the first place." Ichigo replied, causing a certain scarlet-haired woman's content smirk to return and a fearful look on Natsu's face to return.

"Ha." Erza jibed, mocking the pink-haired teen's attempt to escape his imminent demise.

"Don't laugh at me Erza! And why won't you help me Ichigo?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"He did his part already ya fire breathing knucklehead. Not only did he end up finishing the job, he also gave you a perfect excuse to use, so just say what he just said." Gray stated.

"And that was…" Natsu trailed off, wanting the speech to be repeated.

"…are you kidding me?" Ichigo asked with a deadpanned expression.

"I knew your horrible memory would get you hurt one day…" Happy thought aloud.

"You should've just been paying attention." Lucy stated matter-of-factly.

"Speaking of which, do either of you two remember what I said… Gray… Lucy?" Ichigo asked skeptically, lightly glaring at the two Fairy Tail wizards.

Their response was to simultaneously, and inwardly, swear due to the fact that they too didn't quite remember. It was something comforting, that much they knew, but still they couldn't recall quite what it was.

"Um…" Gray trailed off while Lucy just smiled nervously.

"Unbelievable…" Ichigo said.

"For what's it worth, _I_ know perfectly well what you said, and I would agree that you raised several good points." Erza said, sounding as if she believed herself to be superior to the others that hadn't been listening.

"Okay, then you wouldn't mind telling Natsu." Ichigo mused, smirking as he spoke.

"As if I would fall for something like that." Erza sneered.

"Didn't expect you to." Ichigo replied, shrugging it off uncaringly.

_**Magnolia: Fairy Tail Guildhall, Some Time Later…**_

The group of 'renegade' wizards entered the large wooden building that housed Magnolia's strongest with Erza at the lead, appearing as if she were leading a line of prisoners to their fates.

That would be an apt comparison to most of those present, although Ichigo appeared calm and collected as he traditionally did, or at the very least he was dispassionate about the current situation. Natsu appeared the most fearful out of everyone, though with good reason, while Lucy was a close second just due to her expression.

The redheaded model of justice lined each of the guild members up in front of the main bar, after which they were all greeted by the woman many considered to be Fairy Tail's mother figure.

"Looks like your all back from your island getaway." Mira observed.

"Hey Mira, how's it going." Ichigo greeted in a friendly manner, walking up to the barmaid as he did so.

Erza looked at the orange-haired teen with a tick mark evident on her forehead, but neither of the two conversing parties seemed to notice. She took her authority very seriously, and it wasn't really all that acceptable, to her at least, for someone who was awaiting punishment to fall out of line like that. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Ichigo was currently conversing with another woman while simultaneously ignoring her whatsoever.

"Pretty well actually. I was a little bit worried when an S-Class quest went missing though…" Mira trailed off, crossing her arms underneath her breasts and lightly glaring at the orange-haired teen.

"If it helps, we all made it out alive and even finished the job. We didn't take the reward though, but to be honest I didn't think we should have in the first place." Ichigo replied, his words causing the barmaid to smile.

"I was the one who forbade it." Erza commented evenly.

"I see… well that's just like you Ichigo. I assume you helped the islanders as best as you could?" Mira asked, ignoring the words of the scarlet-haired woman.

"Why did you ignore me?" Erza asked sternly.

"Yeah, the curse wasn't even the biggest problem though. We ended up having to deal with something that wasn't quite in the request's description, but we handled it pretty well." Ichigo replied.

"Why are you doing it as well?" Erza asked, becoming increasingly confused and aggravated.

"I'll bet you were the one who dealt with it, weren't you?" Mira guessed, smiling brightly all the while.

"No, not really. I just did what I could to help out." Ichigo replied honestly.

'_This is bad…_' Natsu thought from his position in the 'prison lineup' directly behind Erza.

At this point the scarlet-haired requip user was starting to growl angrily and her hands began to ball into fists. If those weren't the warning signs of the not-so-rare angry Erza Scarlet then he didn't know what was.

"Oh, you're being modest…" Mira said playfully.

"No… maybe a bit." Ichigo replied jokingly, eliciting a girlish laugh from the white-haired woman.

"I will not be ignored!" Erza shouted.

Ironically enough this was what finally snapped the two seemingly happy conversers out of their talk and prompted them to turn and face the redheaded wizard. She took in a few deep breaths, at which point she addressed the barmaid in what was just about her third attempt.

"Mira… is the master here? These four need to receive judgment for stealing the S-Class job request, and I believe it best to get this over with as quickly as is possible." Erza stated, her anger having vanished in no less than a second.

"Master Makarov went outta town for some sort of last minute council meeting. He's been gone since yesterday." Macao replied.

"Whew… that was a close one." Natsu sighed out.

"Yes! Now we won't have to deal with our punishment until gramps get back." Gray said out of pure relief.

"Now you guys are starting to freak me out…" Lucy said fearfully.

"Listen up you fools!" Erza began sternly, breaking up the conversation and instantly silencing each of the three that had been addressed.

Ironically enough Ichigo had been the only one to avoid her current wrath, though that could have been attributed to the fact that the orange-haired teen was currently next to Mirajane and effectively behind Erza. After all, Fairy Tail's shining knight was never one to show favoritism for any reason, at least, not yet.

"You will not be getting off the hook. You broke guild rules by taking on that S-Class quest, so prepare to be punished…" Erza continued.

"How can I prepare myself I don't know what's gonna happen?!" Lucy shrieked.

"Calm down… you still have until the old man gets back, right?" Ichigo reasoned.

"Is Ichigo not going to be punished them?" Mirajane asked in a hopeful tone.

Everything that had been said thus far coupled with the fact that the scarlet-haired woman didn't seem upset with him implied that perhaps some sort of special circumstances existed.

"Ichigo was the one to complete the quest and since no one was hurt on his watch I would choose to allow him to be let off the hook… however, it is again not my decision. Despite this I will explain to Master Makarov the circumstances as I see them which will hopefully cause him to show leniency." Erza replied.

"I see… well then I guess I should congratulate you Ichigo! Completing an S-Class quest is really something!" Mira cheered excitedly, smiling as she patted the orange-haired teen on his back.

"Thanks, but I don't intend to be let off the hook. I'm pretty sure I can take whatever the old man throws at me." Ichigo stated.

"That's how a real man acts!" Elfman exclaimed proudly.

"Indeed. See, Natsu, why can't you take your punishment like Ichigo can?" Erza asked.

She had smiled as a result of hearing how Ichigo intended to deal with his punishment should he be given one, however that smile turned into a small scowl the second she turned to look for Fairy Tail's resident dragon slayer. Shortly thereafter she noticed that said teenage wizard was over with Gray and Lucy at the request board, which only caused her scowl to deepen.

"Oh no you don't!" Erza said sternly before she began to march over towards the group.

"I should probably stop them as well…" Mira reasoned, after which she followed her redheaded friend across the guild.

The substitute just stood in silence for a moment, not entirely understanding why Natsu had gone over to look for another job. He half expected the dragon slayer to run for it given everything that happened, though perhaps that was not giving him enough credit. Natsu wasn't a coward, after all.

"So… did ya get any for saving the island?" Cana asked with a sly smirk from her seated position nearby at the main bar.

"Hmph…" Ichigo grunted out, a blush on his face, before he walked off towards his technical team.

"Well that wasn't a no." Cana mused before taking another sip of her drink.

_**With Natsu and the Others…**_

"This one looks kinda cool…" Natsu thought aloud, grabbing one of the pieces of paper off of the board.

"Natsu, should you really be looking for another job right now?" Lucy asked warily.

"Whaddaya mean? Sure I can." Natsu replied in an upbeat tone.

"Don't think for a second that you can get away from this by taking on another job!" Erza said loudly as she walked up to the technical fugitives.

"Busted…" Gray muttered under his breath.

"You really should listen to Erza on this one. I'm sure the master won't look too kindly on the situation if you all just run off to another job." Mira said.

"Yeah but this request seems pretty easy… decipher this text and I'll see that you'll… increase your wealth by 500,000 Jewel. Sounds like a winner to me." Natsu reasoned.

"Sure does!" Happy chirped in agreement.

"A translation job? That's kinda weird… and it looks like some kind of crazy ancient stuff. No one here is gonna be able to read that." Gray commented.

"I thought I said to knock it off." Erza said sternly.

"Seriously you guys, listen to her…" Mira added, sounding a little less cheerful than normal.

Natsu, unfortunately for those who surrounded the paper, decided to read the text in an attempt to see if he could actually translate it successfully. The second he finished, however, something very strange seemed to happen. An odd-looking light coated their figures, which could be noticed from across the guild, though it vanished just as quickly as it came into existence.

"Hey you guys… um, what the hell just happened?" Ichigo asked as he walked up to his friends, having noticed that an odd light seemed to engulf their six forms just a moment ago.

"I'm not really sure… but everything seems to be normal." Mira stated.

A moment later the white-haired woman did what many wouldn't expect. She adopted a stern and authoritative expression, after which she walked directly up to the substitute and looked him dead in the eyes.

'_Wait… what the hell is happening?_' Ichigo wondered, finding this particular sequence of actions very out of character for the white-haired woman.

"Ichigo, since Master Makarov isn't here I wish to have our fight in order to pass the time until he returns." Mira requested.

The abruptness and oddity of the barmaid's words surprised everyone who heard them. However, it surprised no one more so than who the question was directed at given that he never even once discussed the prospect of a fight with Mirajane.

"What?" Ichigo asked in a surprised tone, though his response made the white-haired woman scowl.

"The fight… that you promised me? I will most certainly not forgive you breaking a promise to me, so I suggest that you reconsider." Mira replied, sounding strangely authoritative.

'_Wait… I never did promise to fight her, I promised Erza. Also her expressions and tone are different than usual, and this isn't something that Mira would ever say… which means that…_' Ichigo thought, after which he turned to find where the redheaded woman was currently located.

The orange-haired teen looked back to the bar to see Erza shining glasses with a very bright and cheerful smile on her face. This drew many odd stares, almost as many as Mira's recent comments had, but nevertheless it told the substitute what was going on, as impossible as it seemed.

"Erza… is that you?" Ichigo asked warily, turning back to look at the white-haired woman he was conversing with.

"Of course it is, who else would it be?" 'Mira' asked in an agitated tone.

To think that a man she considered to be a good friend wouldn't be able to recognize her face at this close a distance was drastically insulting, and it actually hurt her in a very real way. In fact, she was close to yelling at him and intended to do so, but that was before she heard several strange things in rapid succession.

"Why am I so frickin' cold?" Gray wondered aloud, his body shivering.

"Why am I so damn hot?" Natsu said.

'_Wait… that's not right…_' Many thought in unison.

"Why am I so small?" Happy uttered confusedly.

"Why do I have boobs?" Lucy asked, looking down at her ample chest.

"Wait… I don't remember putting on armor…" Erza said, looking down at her two hands.

Almost all at once, each of those that had essentially switched bodies with one another looked at their counterpart with a fearful expression etched on their face. Ichigo thought for a second he was having a nightmare, but that would just be too convenient to be true.

"I'm _you_?!" Each shouted simultaneously.

"Um… what the hell just happened?" Cana wondered aloud.

"Erza, I'm in your body!" Mira exclaimed from within the redhead's body.

"Someone help me! I'm so fat instead of cute and little. AND I can't sleep cuz' my boobs will suffocate me!" 'Lucy' shouted worriedly.

"What did you say?!" Lucy exclaimed, a tick mark coming onto Happy's body as she spoke given that she was it's current occupant.

"Why'd I have to get stuck in this moron's body?" Natsu wondered aloud, though he was currently meant to be Gray.

"What are you complaining about? I'm the one who got uglier and weaker." Gray sneered confrontationally, being within the dragon slayer's physical form.

"This situation is very bizarre…" Ichigo thought aloud.

"How am I supposed to have the spar I want with Ichigo if I don't have massive amounts of magic energy?!" Erza wondered aloud from within the white-haired barmaid's body.

The words that she chose to use, however, got the result of instantly making Mira, who currently resided in Erza's body, to start crying to a degree that streams of water were currently flying out of her eyes. Seeing such a thing made almost everyone in the guild pale a high degree. It just wasn't natural to see someone with that body and face cry so heavily, or even at all.

"Mira, while I am sorry that you took offense to that, crying is something that does not suit that body." The technical Erza stated from within another's body.

"O-Okay…" She replied, sobbing slightly bug gaining control of herself.

"We want this fixed now!" Gray and Natsu shouted in unison.

"Calm down." 'Mira' ordered, smacking the two upside the head for their outburst.

"Why'd you do that, Mira?" They asked, rubbing the back of their heads.

"I'm Erza!" She shouted angrily.

"This is really freaky…" Someone commented.

"How will I ever be cute with such a hideous face?" Happy wondered aloud, though his voice was that of the blonde-celestial mage due to the body swap.

"I'll kill you!" Lucy shouted to technically herself.

The guild began to go into chaos, Natsu and Gray being in separate bodies and going at each other in a rather agitated fashion, and then Happy trying to punch Lucy due to the insults the cat had thrown at her aesthetic appearance while in use of her own body.

'_This isn't going to end well, is it?_' Ichigo thought.

"Mira, please do something." Erza asked from within the body that wasn't exactly her own.

"What can I do?" Mira asked confusedly.

"Shout for them to stop like I usually do." Erza requested.

"Um…" The redhead trailed off, sheepishly placing a hand on the back of her head.

"Its fine, I got it." Ichigo volunteered.

A moment later he grabbed his combat pass, ejected his soul form, and raised his spiritual pressure to the point that almost everyone in the guild froze at the sudden and unforeseen burst of power.

"That's that…" Ichigo mused, after which he reentered his body due to the guild being brought back to order.

"You've got to teach me how to do that." Gray said with a grin etched on his face.

"I don't know if I can, Gray." Ichigo replied honestly.

"I'm Natsu!" Gray replied angrily.

The substitute almost immediately turned to Mirajane's body which was technically Erza, an annoyed expression on his face as he did so. This was going to be incredibly annoying, and he'd prefer not to deal with it right now.

"Can we fix this before I get a migraine?" Ichigo asked seriously.

"Um… I think I might be able to help?" Levy said from across the room.

_**Fairy Tail Guildhall, Several Hours Later…**_

"I see… so you're telling me one of the requests swapped people's bodies?" Makarov asked in a surprised tone.

The master had just recently gotten back to the guild and was informed immediately on what had happened. Still, it seemed that he was more focused on the body swapping incident than the matter of several wizards' punishments.

"Master, shouldn't you be more focused on dealing with Natsu and the others?" Erza questioned, trying to get the elderly man back on track.

"Forget that. Hey Ichigo, did you swap places with a girl? If you didn't fondle her breasts at that point I will be very disappointed! Was it Mira?! No, wait, was it Erza?!" Makarov exclaimed in an overly enthusiastic manner.

At this Ichigo blushed a deep crimson, as did two other very specific women for an entirely separate reason. It may have had something to do with the image of such a thing happening and the two with such thoughts may or may not have been Mirajane and Erza.

"What the hell is wrong with you, ya perverted old man?! I didn't even swap bodies with anyone in the first place!" Ichigo shouted.

"Calm down my boy, it was only a joke." Makarov stated, chuckling as he finished.

"As for their punishments…" Erza trailed off, a blush still present on her face.

"Oh fiddlesticks on their punishment." Makarov said dismissively.

"What?!" Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and to a lesser extent Erza exclaimed out of surprise.

"Don't be so shocked. You all did a very good job in helping those people, and you didn't take the reward even after it was offered to you free of the condition that our guild accepted the job. If we focus entirely on following the rules and ignore those who are in need of help, then we are no better than the dark guilds. That doesn't mean I approve of the means, but still a job well done." Makarov explained.

"Huh… I expected you to be happy 'bout what happened, but I didn't think you'd let us off the hook." Ichigo said, though he wasn't displeased.

"Well there will have to be some punishment for what Natsu did… but there isn't a reason I can't delay it for a while. I would like to thank you specifically, Ichigo. Erza has told me how you did on the quest, and I would like to congratulate you on being the one to actually finish the job. I am impressed with all of you, though, as even if Erza wasn't sent to retrieve you it would appear that you would have finished the job, despite a very big unforeseen task presenting itself." Makarov stated.

"Thanks, old man." Ichigo replied.

"Oh, so I'm 'old man' now?" Makarov asked jokingly.

"Don't take it the wrong way. You just kind of remind me of someone I used to call that… though you don't have a sword and to my knowledge you don't use fire based attacks." Ichigo replied.

"I'm sure one day I'll find out what you mean by that." Makarov thought aloud, releasing an amused chuckle.

The orange-haired teen nodded his head, after which he headed over to the bar in an attempt to finally relax for a few minutes. The recent days had been one obstacle after another, but that wasn't all too bad given that this was the same way his life was before losing his powers, and if he had to live peacefully for years on end he'd probably die of boredom.

"Thank god we're off the hook…" Lucy sighed out, taking the seat next to the substitute.

"See, I told you that we'd be alright." Natsu stated.

"You were almost crying!" Lucy exclaimed.

_**Over at the Main Bar**_

The resident Substitute Soul Reaper took a seat directly in front of Mira in an effort to finally absorb the guild's current state of normalcy. Perhaps it wasn't normal compared to the definition of most people, but anything was better than having six people literally not in their own skin.

"Hello Ichigo." Mira greeted with a friendly smile, sounding more cheerful than usual. He couldn't really blame her, though, considering that she now had her own body back.

"Hey Mira, happy to be back in your own skin?" Ichigo asked jokingly.

"Yeah, I really am. Don't get me wrong, Erza's a good friend, but I don't think I could stand being in her body for the rest of my life… that armor was really uncomfortable." Mira replied.

"It couldn't have been that bad…" Erza commented as she too came up to the bar and took a seat directly next to the orange-haired teen.

"It was pretty bad… also, that armor might be a little outdated. It was a bit tight around… a certain area." Mira stated.

"I'll keep that in mind…" Erza replied, a slight blush coming onto her face.

'_It's okay, just imagine it was about her stomach and not her breasts…_' Ichigo thought, however he inwardly swore the second he began to think about precisely what he had wanted to avoid. Needless to say, he too blushed at the barmaid's comment.

"So, Ichigo, what did you think about your first S-Class mission?" Mira asked cheerfully.

"Well… if I'm being honest, I have mixed feelings about it. I count it as a win because the job got done, but we did let the village get destroyed at one point. It was reconstructed, and I have a feeling I know how it got rebuilt so quickly, but because of that I just don't know what to think." Ichigo replied.

"You know how the village was repaired?" Erza questioned in a surprised tone.

She thought something like that would have come up when they were conversing at the little party the villagers held for them. After all, that was kind of an important piece of information.

"Yes, I think I do. There was a wizard I fought on the island named Zalty… he used some ancient form of magic he called the Arc of Time. He's the only person I know of that was on the island who could've done something like that. Still, he was an enemy, so I still don't get why he fixed the village." Ichigo explained.

In a way the masked man seemed familiar to him, but the substitute chose not to add this given that he couldn't even begin to think of who he reminded him of. It also didn't seem to be really of that much importance for the time being.

"I see… well capturing this Zalty person was not part of the mission and you should be quite proud of what you have done." Erza stated.

"I'm with Erza on this one." Mira chirped.

"Hey, I helped too!" Lucy said in a friendly manner as she too came up to the bar.

"That's true. I didn't really do all that much…" Ichigo commented, trying and succeeding in sounding modest.

"But you were the one who actually did what the quest called for." Mira pointed out.

"Well you got me there…" Ichigo replied, rubbing the back of his head for a brief moment.

"By the way, Erza, would you like anything?" Mira offered.

"Hmm… I'll have…" Erza began.

The redhead didn't even get to finish her sentence before a slice of strawberry cheesecake was presented before her on a silver platter. A glint appeared in her eyes, and a slight amount of drool began to drip from the corner of her mouth.

"Did I get it right?" Mira asked, giggling at the reaction the dish elicited from the scarlet-haired woman.

It took about half a second before Erza nodded her head and began to eat the desert with a tiny fork. She moaned the instant that her mouth was hit by the taste of her favorite food, a small blush gracing her features as she did so.

"Um… is strawberry cheesecake your favorite food or something?" Ichigo questioned curiously, prompting his female comrade to stop eating so as to answer the inquiry.

"Yes, it is absolutely delicious. I um… I-I am guilty for having considered using you to make a very large cheesecake when I was briefly under the impression you were a giant strawberry." Erza stated bashfully, averting her eyes out of embarrassment.

When the redheaded knight finally returned her gaze to the subject of her confession, Ichigo did nothing but scowl. He didn't really think that it was necessary correct her interpretation of his name given that in this instance she hadn't said she currently believed it to mean strawberry. Still, it was incredibly annoying that she had ever considered something like that.

"In my defense, you sounded delicious…" Erza said quietly, though this didn't quite help her case.

"He looks good too…" Mira mumbled under her breath, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Did you say something?" Ichigo asked, turning to the barmaid given that he definitely heard her speak.

"Nothing, nothing at all! Actually, I've got some things to take care of, so I should be heading into the back!" Mira said, her smile twisting into a nervous one as she waved her hands defensively before walking away.

"That was… strange." Ichigo thought aloud. For some reason he heard an echoing of the phrase 'you're an idiot' but he didn't quite understand what its source was and therefore he overlooked it.

"I'm glad that I'm not the only one who noticed." Erza stated.

The three who currently sat at the bar continued to converse in a friendly manner, mostly discussing a few things that occurred on the island. The conversation, however, was interrupted by an arguing duo that one wouldn't typically expect.

"Yeah, well you're just a meanie!" Happy shouted accusingly.

"And I told you that I caught the fish so we should eat it my way!" Natsu shouted right back.

"And I told _you_ that fish tastes better raw!" Happy stated.

"And I told _you_ that if _you_ wanted to eat fish raw then _you_ catch it and eat it your way!" Natsu exclaimed.

'_What the hell?_' Ichigo wondered confusedly, turning to look at both the dragon slayer and his technical best friend as the continued to glare and growl at one another.

It wasn't all too rare to see Natsu in a fight or argument with someone, especially if that person happened to be Gray of all people, but to see him in a fight with Happy was something new. However, it didn't really surprise him that it had to do with fish.

"Those two are fighting? That's rare." Lucy commented.

"Yeah… I mean I live with them and the only thing they've come close to arguing about is who loves food more." Ichigo added.

"I think I'll go over and talk to them…" Lucy mused, after which she got up and made the attempt to settle whatever stupid squabble the two had gotten themselves into.

"By the way Ichigo, is there any reason you were being so modest about completing the S-Class quest?" Erza questioned, taking a bit of an advantage given that the two were currently alone.

"That's because I went in not caring about anything other than helping out the islanders and I wasn't the only one who did so. Natsu, Gray, and Lucy all did their part, and I did mine, which means I can't take any more credit than any of them." Ichigo replied.

"That is true, but no matter who it is that tells the events of what happened, you're the one who everyone acknowledges as the reason the quest was complete. On top of that, I would say you very easily displayed the qualities of an S-Class wizard." Erza countered, clearly trying to get at something very, very specific.

"I don't have any interest in becoming S-Class. I told you before that it wasn't something I had in mind, and I was telling the truth. Something like status has never been important to me, and I doubt that will ever change." Ichigo said.

"Then what was your initial motivation for going on the mission prior to realizing the suffering of the villagers?" Erza pressed.

"I only wanted to make sure Natsu, Happy, and Lucy made it out without being hurt. Obviously completing the quest was something I knew would somehow help the people who sent it out, but at the time it was a lesser priority." Ichigo explained.

'_I see… then that was why he had first wanted to return to the guild. Had it not been for the demon that offered to take them, he likely would have done just that._' Erza thought.

It was very admirable of Ichigo to say these things and obviously believe them to be true. In fact, it was downright impressive in some ways. Still, one thing remained to be seen, and that was a question that was not necessarily from a feelings perspective, more along the lines of something that a warrior would ask to another warrior.

"What about a challenge? You seem to be a strong fighter, of that I have no doubt, so eventually don't you believe you will grow board of ordinary assignments?" Erza inquired.

"If I'm being honest, yeah, probably. However there are still plenty of strong people in this guild that I could fight in order to blow of some steam… one of which is you, actually." Ichigo replied, giving the redhead a small smile as he finished.

Fairy Tail's Tiatnia smiled in return, though it wasn't at the fact that Ichigo so readily denied his want to be an S-Class wizard. It was more as a result of the direct compliment to her skill, but moreover it reminded her of something that she had intended to have recently but had been continuously forced to put off. Thus, she desired to drop the topic of S-Class and move on to the topic of her desired spar.

"Speaking of which, would you…" Erza began.

"I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" Happy and Natsu screamed in unison, successfully cutting off the scarlet-haired knight.

Both Ichigo and Erza turned to see the two formerly best friends storm out of the guild in a very angry fashion. The blonde-haired celestial mage who had recently volunteered to rectify the situation walked back to the bar shortly thereafter, a defeated or rather exasperated look present on her features.

"What happened?" Ichigo asked confusedly.

"Natsu and Happy are apparently arguing over fish… but for some reason they're really, really mad at each other." Lucy replied, sounding highly lost.

"It can't be that bad…" Ichigo thought aloud.

"Ya really think that?" Lucy asked skeptically.

"…I'll go talk to Natsu." Ichigo stated.

Erza and Lucy both smiled at the currently retreating form of the orange-haired teen, each admiring the fact that he seemed to care enough to deal with how childish Natsu and Happy could both be. The former, however, realized that she hadn't gotten to finish her earlier sentence, and as a result made to speak out of mild panic and frustration.

"Wait, I wanted to ask when we…" Erza began, though unfortunately the substitute had already made his way out the door. While she had lost this immediate opportunity, she very much so knew who to blame for it.

"At least we know Ichigo will be able to talk some sense into him, right?" Lucy mused, turning to face the redheaded woman to her side.

Upon turning, the blonde-haired woman paled at the look her assumed friend was giving her. Erza glared heavily at her and had a dark aura surrounding her body, the likes of which was only given off when she was highly annoyed at someone.

"Um… are you alright?" Lucy asked cautiously.

The scarlet-haired mage didn't even bother making a reply. Rather, she just continued to direct the same look at the celestial wizard as she took repeated bites out of her strawberry cheesecake. This, in turn, made the blonde chuckle nervously before she wisely got out of her chair and opted to make her escape.

"Um… I'm gonna go see if Mira needs any help…" Lucy stated before cowering away into the back room where the barmaid was currently located. She didn't really desire to help, and for that she felt bad, but it was just too good of an excuse.

_**The Back Room, Seconds Later…**_

"Mira…" Lucy called out as she entered the room.

She saw the white-haired woman sitting at a desk looking through several books, though she stopped her actions the second she heard her name being mentioned from the doorway.

"Oh, hey Lucy, do you need something?" Mira asked politely.

"No… I'm just sort of hiding from Erza…" Lucy replied, sweatdropping slightly at the recollection of the redhead's look.

"What for?" Mira asked in a confused tone.

"I wish I knew… anyway, I thought I could help you out a little bit while I'm here." Lucy replied.

"Well feel free to stay here and if I need anything I won't hesitate to ask." Mira said in a friendly voice.

The blonde leaned against a nearby wall as the barmaid went back to looking at the collection of papers and books on the wooden desk. Despite the fact that she had volunteered to help, she didn't quite yet know what Mira was doing, so it was only natural for her to ask.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Lucy asked curiously, her question causing the white-haired woman to jump up in her seat slightly.

"I-I'm just doing a bit of reorganizing." Mira replied in a voice that was of higher pitch than her normal. She wouldn't dare say she had decided to come into this room out of embarrassment for directly calling Ichigo handsome.

"By the way, I should probably tell you that Natsu and Happy are fighting right now…" Lucy reasoned, knowing that since the extremely friendly woman had left the main guildhall she wouldn't know such things.

"So it's about fish?" Mira guessed, not even taking her eyes off of the papers before her.

"Yeah, does this happen often?" Lucy inquired, taking note of the nonchalant way the woman chose to reply.

"Well not really, but whenever they do fight it's always about fish." Mira replied, placing her index finger on her chin as if to imply she was trying to think of an instance when this wasn't the case.

"I really don't get how those two can fight about the stupidest of things." Lucy thought aloud.

"They have known each other for a long time. Natsu found Happy when he was just an egg." Mira replied with a bright smile.

"Wait… how did they even meet in the first place?" Lucy asked.

"It's a long story… but it all started quite a few years ago. Back then, Natsu was…" Mira began.

_**Outside the Guildhall **_

"Stupid cat…" Natsu grumbled, crossing his arms and glaring at the grass directly in front of him in a childish way.

"Natsu, you okay?" Ichigo asked, surprising the dragon slayer as he walked out of the guildhall.

"Oh, hey Ichigo. Um… no, actually I'm not. Happy got me all pissed off." Natsu replied, after which he went back to glaring at the grass.

The orange-haired teen took a seat directly next to him, after which he chose to stay silent for a while in an effort to give the dragon slayer a few seconds to calm down before he chose to continue on with the conversation.

"Wanna talk about it?" Ichigo offered.

"What's there to talk about? He thinks raw fish is better than grilled and I think he's stupid." Natsu stated matter-of-factly.

"Seriously? Aren't you supposed to be his best friend?" Ichigo asked in a tone of disbelief.

"Well he started it…" Natsu grumbled, obviously seeing that he was supposed to be the mature one. Only problem was that he never liked to be.

"How old are you again?" Ichigo countered.

"Did you come out here to nag me or make me feel better?" Natsu asked in a grumpy manner.

"Depends on how stupid you decide to be." Ichigo replied jokingly.

"If you want me to apologize, forget it." Natsu stated defiantly.

"You guys have known each other for how many years and your letting something this dumb cause you to fight?" Ichigo questioned in a serious tone.

The dragon slayer released a small grunt of annoyance at the fact that his latest friend was currently both nagging him and making him feel a little bit better due to pointing out things that he really didn't consider. It was always annoying when both were done at once, and to be perfectly honest it just confused him because he didn't know whether to be appreciative or pissed off.

"Well… we have known each other for a really, really long time. I actually raised him since he was an egg." Natsu replied, his frown dissipating as he spoke.

"An _egg_?" Ichigo uttered confusedly.

"Yeah, an egg. Happy was hatched. It's a good story how it all happened, actually." Natsu stated, partially beckoning the substitute to inquire further.

"Okay… I think I'd like to hear that story." Ichigo said, chuckling slightly as he finished given that he saw right through the pink-haired teen's attempt at baiting him.

"Great, well it all started when…" Natsu began.

_**With Mira and Lucy...**_

"Wow, so Natsu was kind of a solo act as a kid, huh?" Lucy asked in a sympathetic tone.

"Yeah, there weren't too many people he got along with. He fought with Gray every day, and he hated Erza at the time because she always interrupted them." Mira replied.

"So what was everyone else like?" Lucy questioned.

"Well, you may not believe this, but I was actually…" Mira said.

_**With Ichigo and Natsu. **_

"I don't frickin' believe it." Ichigo stated in a tone of disbelief.

"No, seriously, it's true." Natsu replied in an honest tone.

"You're telling me that Erza… and… and _Mira_ of all people… used to fight… _constantly_?" Ichigo uttered.

"Yup… but it kinda pissed me off a lot. Erza wouldn't let me and Gray fight, but the second she saw Mira the two would just destroy half the guild for no reason! It was totally unfair!" Natsu stated.

"I could see how that could be annoying… still, why did they fight all the time?" Ichigo questioned.

"They had a bit of a rivalry, that's what everyone said at least. At the time they were both kinda tied for the title of Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard, so I guess that might've had something to do with it. But that changed when…" Natsu began, though his expression dropped significantly when he finished.

At this, the substitute realized something not so pleasant had occurred. Currently, Mira was capable of using small spells, that much he knew, but he didn't sense much power coming off of her. Still, it was clear now that she had at one point had access to large amounts of magical energy if what Natsu had just said was anything to go by. That could only mean she somehow lost it, which evidently wasn't such a happy tale, but it really couldn't have been.

"Why don't you just stick to telling me what happened with Happy?" Ichigo mused.

"Yeah… so anyway, after we found the egg…" Natsu began.

For just around the next half hour, the dragon slayer had told him exactly how Happy came to be a part of this world. He was highly surprised to hear a few things, like about how Elfman used to be timid and how Mira used to be a very, very angry person. Also how Cana _didn't _always drink, that one was a real shocker. All the same it was an amazing story, but there was just one question that Ichigo couldn't get off of his mid.

"Okay… I still don't know one thing. Who's Lisanna? Is she a member of Fairy Tail?" Ichigo asked, though a moment later he wished he hadn't.

The expression he saw on Natsu's face could only be described as heart wrenching. Not only that, but the pink-haired teen visible winced at the mentioning of the girl's name. It was at that moment that Ichigo knew perfectly well he had made a mistake, but it was simply too late.

"She… she used to be a member of Fairy Tail." Natsu replied in a shaky voice.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to…" Ichigo began, only to be cut off.

"No, you don't need to apologize. You're a member of the guild, and you're my friend as well, so I don't really have any problems telling you about it. Lisanna used to be a member of Fairy Tail until a few years ago. She was Mira's younger sister, and Mira took both her and Elfman on a mission to kill some kind of beast…" Natsu began.

The very second that he found out Lisanna was the white-haired barmaid's younger sister, he knew this story would have a sad ending. He just hoped that for the sake of the Strauss siblings it wasn't too gruesome to deal with given that it had apparently only happened a few years ago.

_**Flashback…**_

But a short time ago, the Strauss siblings had been happily conversing with Natsu and even bragging, albeit barely, about how exciting their mission would be. It seemed straightforward enough, stop a monster that many referred to as The Beast. Sadly, none of them had been prepared for the events of the mission, not a single one of them.

"Elfman… pull yourself together!" Mira pleaded in an urgent voice.

Fairy Tail's esteemed demon currently lay on the ground, the upper part of her body leaning against a nearby boulder with her left arm gripping her right. Her body was coated in wounds, and she was currently incapable of defending herself from the creature that loomed directly in front of her.

The creature that currently threatened to end her existence was massive beast with glowing purple eyes, horns coming out of its head and spikes protruding out of its shoulders. It had long white hair and a small beard, and had a very muscular body, giving off an apelike physique.

A green bird flew overtop the two beings, but it quickly landed next to the white-haired woman and once again took on a human form. In place of the bird was a petite young girl with a generous bust, somewhat short, white hair and blue eyes that matched those of her older sister. She wore a red sleeveless dress with a white bow tied beneath the collar and plain-looking shoes.

"I had everyone in the town evacuate, now let me help you." Lisanna stated from her sibling's side.

"You have to run Lisanna… its dangerous. I was getting beat up pretty bad so Elfman tried to take over the beast to protect me." Mira stated in a strained voice.

"That's him?!" Lisanna exclaimed, sweating lightly as she gazed up at the large creature.

"It almost worked… but the beast was too powerful for him. Now he's totally lost control." Mira explained as he sister helped her up by throwing her arm over her shoulders.

"Oh no… what do you we? How can we save him?" Lisanna asked as the large ape-like creature approached.

"We have to get him to come to his senses before the beast completely takes over his soul." Mira replied.

Within moments, the best came to a stop directly in front of the two sisters, its posture and demeanor rather intimidating. The purple eyes of the creature stared directly at its potential prey, nothing but malic written on its face.

"**Gaaaa…**" The beast growled out.

Not even hesitating for a moment, Lisanna left her elder sister alone and began to walk forward, causing the currently injured S-Class mage to fall to one knee, unable to do anything in her current state.

"What are you doing?! Come back here!" Mira exclaimed, though her words fell on deaf ears.

"Big brother Elf… are you feelin' okay?" Lisanna asked sweetly, staring down the glowing purple eyes of the colossal beast without any semblance of fear in her voice or appearance.

"It's me, Lisanna, your little sister… our big sister Mira is here too. We're a family and when times are tough we pull together and work things out. So why don't the three of us go home and talk about what happened today? I promise I'm not mad at you." Lisanna continued.

The large monstrous creature seemed to stand perfectly still for a moment, giving the innocent girl just a brief glimmer of hope that her brother was somehow still alive and well and that his mind was still intact. Even for the briefest of moments, Mira was allowed to feel the same thing. That, however, vanished for one of them the second after the creature chose to give its response.

"**Raaaaaaaaaaaaaa!**" The Beast roared as it brought up its right hand, obviously making to attack.

Despite this, the white-haired girl with the most innocent smile the world had ever seen in the face of such a monstrosity stood her ground. She merely held out her hands, not showing a single sign of fear before next she spoke.

"Come on, don't be afraid big brother… we still love you…" Lisanna stated, nothing but honesty in her voice.

The creature she thought to be her older brother didn't even register what she had said, and as a result it simply brought its hand down without mercy. It came into contact with the youngest of the Strauss siblings within moments, smacking her to such a degree that she flew across the ravine and into a nearby rock formation.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Mira screamed, helplessly reaching towards the currently shooting form of her sister.

_**Flashback End…**_

Ichigo could say nothing in the wake of the sad tale. For someone who both had a horrible memory and wasn't there in the first place, the dragon slayer gave a remarkably descriptive recollection.

It seemed, actually, that he had gone over the events over and over, practically unable to get the sequence of happenings out of his head. Still, Ichigo understood perfectly well the feeling of tragic loss, though even so he could never say he enjoyed it one bit.

"I told you before that Mira used to be an S-Class wizard and was almost as strong if not stronger than Erza… well, after Lisanna died on that mission, she lost the ability to wield her magic energy and ever since then she's been working at Fairy Tail as an employee. She did change, I'd say for the better since she stopped beating the crap outta me, but she still hasn't completely gotten over it." Natsu said.

"How exactly do you know what happened so vividly? I mean, the way you told the story…" Ichigo trailed off, guessing that the pink-haired teen understood his point.

"I talked to Elfman about what happened about a month after the funeral. To be honest I didn't want to talk to Mira cuz' I was afraid she'd kill me, and no that's not a joke… she really loved her siblings more than anything. Anyway, Elfman didn't really find out what happened until after he returned to normal, and when he did he couldn't stop repeating the story to himself. When I finally did ask him, he told me exactly what I told you… and I couldn't stop repeating the story either, so that's how I know it so well." Natsu explained.

"She was someone special to you, huh?" Ichigo asked sympathetically.

"Yeah… she was. Actually she was my first and only friend for a while, and she was just so… nice. To tell ya the truth, there are three people who still haven't really gotten over her death in our guild, and each of 'em blame themselves." Natsu stated.

There was a silence for a moment, neither of the two choosing to say anything. Ichigo knew perfectly well who those three individuals were, but at the moment he didn't want to interrupt what his friend was currently saying out of respect for his emotions. Clearly this person had been special, and he knew all too well what even the slightest memory of the events leading to the death of a loved one could do to a person.

"Ya know… if I had actually pushed a bit harder and gone with them like Mira offered, she might've lived. That's something I can't get outta my head whenever I remember her." Natsu continued in a saddened tone.

"I'll leave you alone for now… but as to what you should do about Happy, I've still got one thing to say. You and he have been together for a long time, and from what you told me you do fight from time to time. But nothing should ever come between you two for long period of time… so just think of what Lisanna would tell you to do." Ichigo stated before walking back towards the guildhall.

Natsu sat in place, an expression of deep thought etched on his face. The words that were just told to him by the orange-haired teen actually went a long way. Lisanna considered herself Happy's mother from the beginning, and in a lot of ways she really was. The one thing she always stressed, though, was that they were a family, and a family never lets a fight come between them.

'_Thanks Ichigo… I think I needed to hear that._' Natsu thought with a small but genuine smile before he headed off towards where he knew the blue-furred cat would be.

_**Inside the Guildhall: By the Bar**_

"Hey Lucy." Ichigo greeted as he walked through the guild.

The blonde turned and waved towards him, a smile on her face but her expression practically begging him to tell her how his talk with Natsu had turned out. Still he hadn't taken a seat yet, so he would settle for allowing her to verbally request an explanation.

"Hey Ichigo. How'd it go with Natsu?" Lucy inquired.

"I think it'll be alright. Actually I'm pretty sure he left to go find Happy already." Ichigo replied.

"Wow, that's pretty surprising. What'd you say to him?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Well… um, that's kind of hard to explain. He started telling me the story of how he met Happy in the first place, or basically how he was born and all that. Then when he finished telling me, I just told him to think of what someone he used to know would say." Ichigo explained.

"You… you wouldn't happen to be talking about Lisanna, would you?" Lucy guessed, her expression becoming slightly saddened.

"Yeah… wait, how do you know who she is?" Ichigo asked, now being highly confused.

"Mira told me the same thing Natsu told you when I went into the back to hide from Er… I mean, see if she needed any help." Lucy stated, quickly correcting herself.

At this, the substitute looked around the room to see that the traditionally upbeat barmaid was currently nowhere to be seen. Judging from what Natsu had said, coupled with the fact that her sister had recently been brought up, something many were likely to avoid doing, it was very much so likely that he had a reason to be worried.

"And she told you who Lisanna is? What'd she say exactly?" Ichigo questioned in a serious tone.

"Just that she was Happy's mom… and that she's no longer… um…" Lucy said, obviously not wanting to continue due to the fact that she wasn't all too comfortable with discussing death.

"Where is she now?" Ichigo asked sternly.

"S-She left the guild after we'd finished talking. She did seem a bit less happy after she did though…" Lucy replied, noticing that the range-haired teen's tone now possessed a slight edge.

'_There's no way she can be okay… with how recent the death of her sister was, I don't think she could be given the circumstances. I should find her and see if she's alright._' Ichigo thought, after which he got up from his chair and made to excuse himself.

It had taken himself nearly four years to put what had happened to his own mother out of his mind, and another three to finally stop blaming himself for what had happened. With what he knew so far, Mirajane definitely blamed herself for what had happened to her sister, and on top of that she witnessed it firsthand, so if the conditions were similar he supposed the feelings would be as well. That, however, only meant that he had no time to waste.

"I'm going to see if I can find her. Call it intuition." Ichigo stated before heading off.

"Good luck then. You may want to take an umbrella though, they say it might rain!" Lucy said with a small smile of admiration, eliciting a nod of understanding from the orange-haired teen.

As Ichigo was about half-way towards the doors of the guildhall, a certain redheaded wizard got up and approached him in an attempt to obviously tell him something. Sadly, he didn't really have time to waste, but the she didn't really know that just yet.

"Ichigo, I've been looking for you. I wanted to ask…" Erza began.

"Sorry Erza, but I have to go do something pretty important right now. Please ask me when I get back or whenever I see you again, alright?" Ichigo requested politely.

The scarlet-haired woman stopped dead in her tracks and just stared at Ichigo's currently retreating body as it walked out of the guildhall. Given that it was currently dark outside it wasn't likely that he would return directly to the guild, which meant that her request would have to wait until tomorrow, that is if she even remember or got the chance to. After today's events, she learned that asking him a simple question was actually quite a bit more difficult than it was made out to be.

"He really just wants everyone around him to be happy, doesn't he?" Lucy thought aloud, alerting her female comrade to her presence.

Lucy was, of course, correct and also with how he responded the redheaded requip user couldn't be mad at him, but she could be upset with what she presumed, once more, to be the reason for his departure, if only by extension.

With a small scowl and a glare gracing her features, Erza turned and walked over to the bar, firmly directing the very same look at the blonde without even a moment's hesitation. This, naturally, confused the celestial wizard who didn't even understand what she was so angry about.

"What did you do?" Erza asked in a seemingly agitated tone. It was difficult to tell since she always seemed just a little bit upset about something.

"I-I just said that M-Mirajane seemed a little down after mentioning her sister to me." Lucy replied fearfully.

At this, Erza just took a seat next to the blonde and continued to glare at her. Really that was all that she could do, and for multiple reasons. Firstly, she couldn't fault Ichigo for wanting to see if Mira was alright given that the topic of Lisanna was a bit of an emotional trigger, and it always had been since her death. Secondly, she had no intention of stopping Ichigo from comforting someone just so that she could ask about a spar as that would simply be far too selfish.

On top of all this, the scarlet-haired beauty fully realized that she had created the circumstances for this to happen. If she hadn't glared at Lucy in the first place and caused her to cower in fear, which she knew full well was what happened, then the blonde wouldn't have gone in the back to see Mira in the first place, which would have directly avoided the talk about Lisanna.

Realizing that the world just didn't quite seem fair, Erza just continued to glare at the celestial spirit mage, who couldn't come up with a good excuse to leave for the moment.

_**Magnolia: Cemetery, In front of Lisanna's Grave**_

The sun had set above the city around an hour ago, but still it wasn't very dark as of yet. Dark clouds, however, seemed to line the skies as if acting as an indicator of the mood that one person currently felt.

That person was none other than Mirajane Strauss, who, at the moment, stood in front of her sister's grave in silence. She'd arrived some time ago, but thus far she hadn't said anything. Something just seemed to be preventing her from speaking.

It was odd, to her, that only around three years, not even that, had gone by and she still couldn't bring herself to speak instantaneously at her grave, no matter how frequently she tried. Today wasn't a day she intended to come, but nevertheless there she stood.

"Hello Lisanna… it's your big sister, Mirajane." Mira began, feeling tears form in her eyes and her voice shake, though she did her best to hold both at bay.

"I-I don't know if you can hear me from where you are… but I want you to know that I haven't forgotten about you. Your face, your smile, your kind heart, and the pretty blue eyes that the two of us shared… I will never forget about you." Mira stated, holding back the waterworks and maintaining a stable voice.

She found it necessary to pause when a sudden and rather loud jolt of lighting sounded off in the skies above, though still no rain fell. Actually it was quite fortunate that the white-haired woman now had a moment to gather herself, otherwise the tears and sadness she felt may not have allowed her to continue.

"I want you to know that I'm still sorry… and that I will always love you, Lisanna… I will… always…" Mira sobbed out.

Before she could even finish her final sentence, tears fell openly from her eyes. Upon her eyes letting loose the large pools of water that they had held back, so too did the sky allow the rain to pour forth.

On the grounds of the cemetery a massive amount of rain coated everything and had begun to drench Mira in the process. She didn't care, however, and if anything it just gave her the ability to blame the water streaming down her cheeks on the rain. It was never good to lie, but she could never stand to make Elfman worry, let alone bring up Lisanna after everything that had happened.

'_Still, I'm just glad that no one can see me like this._' Mira thought, wiping away the tears on her cheeks in a futile gesture to dry her skin. Even if she were to somehow find a way quell her tears, the rain didn't stop falling.

Such thoughts, however, turned out to be countered by the presence of another person in the cemetery. She heard quiet footsteps approaching her, though they held no hostile intent. That much she could easily tell even without access to her once great amount of magical energy.

"You know you shouldn't be out in the rain like this…" A voice called out.

The sound of the voice caused Mira's tear-filled eyes to widen significantly before she turned to see an orange-haired teen standing directly behind her with an umbrella in his hand, guarding his own body from the rain. His appearance was, at first, shocking, and then confusing, but very quickly she would come to find it rather soothing.

"…you'll catch a cold." Ichigo finished, walking up to the white-haired woman and shielding her from the rain with his own umbrella.

"I-Ichigo…" Mira uttered out of surprise, inwardly wanting nothing more than to hide her face given how truly different her appearance must've seemed from her usual bright, beautiful and cheery self.

The fact that the two were in such close proximity would normally have caused him to blush out of embarrassment, but given the gravity of the situation he just couldn't bring himself to feel anything but concern.

"H-How much did you hear?" Mira asked, averting her eyes in an embarrassed fashion. It wasn't that she would have changed what she had said if the substitute had been listening, she just didn't necessarily want to face him when her appearance was so disheveled, or so she believed it to be.

"I heard pretty much everything… and Natsu told me about Lisanna when I went to speak to him. It may have been about Happy at first, but he also told me what happened." Ichigo replied solemnly.

"Then why are you here?" Mira asked meekly, not at all sounding rude or aggressive.

"Lucy told me that you seemed a little upset after telling her the story of how Happy was born, and I figured I knew the reason for it." Ichigo explained.

"So you came to check on me… is that it?" Mira questioned, sounding somewhat touched that this was the case.

The former demon of Fairy Tail would never have openly requested to be comforted by the orange-haired teen, but nevertheless his presence meant a great deal to her. Just knowing that someone cared enough to want to console her made her want to smile, though under current circumstances she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Not entirely… I also wanted to let you know something, something incredibly important. Mira… it wasn't your fault… what happened isn't something you should blame yourself for." Ichigo said calmly and affectionately, treading carefully so as not to worsen the emotional state of someone he considered to be a good friend.

"But it was my fault! If I had been stronger, or if I had decided to bring someone and be more careful, then she would… she would still be here with us." Mira replied, tears once again falling from her eyes. This time, however, there was no rain to conceal it as she stood beneath her friend's umbrella.

"I know you feel like the blame rests solely on you. I know that the image of what happened keeps playing through in your head and that the moment when you saw her life end will forever haunt you. I also know that the hole in your heart will never completely disappear… but blaming yourself won't solve the problem, it just makes it even harder to deal with." Ichigo stated.

"I… I-I just don't know what… what I should do. I-If you were me, what would you do?" Mira asked in a shaky voice, fighting through the lump she currently felt in her throat.

"I can't tell you what you should do… all I can do is tell you what I _did _do. When I experienced a loss of someone that I loved… I used that as motivation to get stronger so that it never happened again." Ichigo replied solemnly.

"Do you know about the pain? Do you know what it's like to go by every day thinking that someone you loved died because of you?" Mira asked, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to stop the practical waterworks that had yet to cease.

What Ichigo had said to her told Mira that he had may have had experience in dealing with something like this. Loss was never a pretty thing, but if you couldn't get through it yourself then it was always helpful to look for someone who had gone through something similar. Even if they weren't able to give any advice, it helped to know that you could survive despite what had happened.

"Yes… I do. The person that I lost… that I blamed myself for the death of… was my mother." Ichigo began.

The substitute then told the tragic story of how his mother came to pass on to the next realm of existence. He listed off what he saw that day on the beach, the girl that he thought needed help and that he ignored his mother's warning.

Mira visibly winced upon hearing that he blacked out, only to wake up and find his mother's lifeless corpse nearby. It was very tragic, almost unbelievable, that he didn't even know what had happened until after gaining the powers of a Soul Reaper and discovering what a hollow was.

At least Mira understood what had occurred that day, and she couldn't even imagine the emotional pain and mental stress of going through something like that. Even more, the fact that Ichigo eventually came to fight the creature that killed his mother was also rather incredible, though a little part of her wished that he had been the one to end its life as opposed to his father doing so several months thereafter. He at least deserved that much, but it didn't really seem to bother the substitute a great degree if his composed appearance was anything to go by.

"For a long time since that day I blamed myself for what had happened, because I didn't listen to her when she told me to stop, because I decided to run and help the girl who wasn't really there in the first place. But because that happened I had the capability of using my powers for the right reasons, and that is also why I would sooner die than watch someone I care about be taken away." Ichigo finished.

Many things were racing through Mirajane's head at the moment, each of which had to do with the man directly in front of her. The story she was just told was definitely something she could relate to, and in some ways it was far worse than her own tragic tale, but it was a distinction without any substantial difference.

However, one thing stood out to her above all else, and that was the fact that through the entire telling of his mother's death and the aftermath, Ichigo never once broke down and paused. It wasn't because he was emotionless, rather his entire attention was directly focused on the well-being of the woman to whom he spoke, and she knew that perfectly well.

With this in mind, the white-haired woman instantly sprung forth and latched onto Ichigo's body before she began to hold him tightly. Her head quickly buried deeply into his chest and she began to cry once more, though this time it was out of sadness for both herself and the practical kindred spirit whose body she currently had captured in her grip.

"Ichigo…" Mira sobbed out, only squeezing him harder.

The substitute was, at first, incredibly surprised due to how sudden the action was, and he even blushed with how tightly he was currently being held. However, there was not a chance in hell he would back away due to how much she was hurting. With that in mind he wrapped his only free hand around the woman's body and placed it firmly on her back in an affectionate manner.

Nothing but the sound of the rain and thunder that roared and poured from the sky could be heard for a decent amount of time, the two just staying there with Mira not capable of speaking and Ichigo not desiring to force her to do so.

"H-How did you stop blaming yourself for what happened?" Mira asked, her voice sounding somewhat normal and her tears no longer streaming down her cheeks and onto the substitute's clothing.

"In some ways, I never really did… but I realized that I eventually had to move on. I will never forget my mother and how wonderful she was, but holding onto the past prevents us from looking forward to the future. Without moving on, I wouldn't be the person I am today, and I wouldn't have grown strong enough to protect what I care for most." Ichigo replied.

The two stood in silence for several more minutes, Mirajane still hugging the orange-haired teen tightly and Ichigo in turn doing nothing more than allowing her to do so. Whatever brought her comfort at this point didn't really matter to him. Abruptly, however, the barmaid released the substitute from her grasp and looked directly into his face once more, appearing significantly calmer than prior.

"Can you… can you walk me to my home? I don't have an umbrella, so I was just wondering." Mira requested in a somewhat bashful manner.

"Of course, I have no problem with that." Ichigo stated.

The white-haired wizard nodded her head a moment later, after which she grabbed onto Ichigo's left arm in an effort to remain close to his body. It was raining, after all, so it wasn't entirely out of the ordinary for her to do something like this, or so Ichigo had thought.

"Where do you live?" Ichigo inquired in the same somewhat comforting voice he had used throughout his conversation with Fairy Tail's former demon.

"I can show you the way as we walk." Mira replied.

_**Magnolia: Outside the Strauss Home, Some Time Later…**_

The majority of the duo's walk consisted mostly of silence and a few questions regarding directions that occurred every so often. Throughout its entirety, Mirajane didn't let go of Ichigo's arm, not even for the purposes of pointing in a given direction. The rain also didn't stop, so that did allow her to have a continuous excuse if ever there was one.

In retrospect she believed she had held onto it tighter than she needed to in order to get some kind of message across, but she didn't really care at the moment.

"This is it…" Ichigo thought aloud as the two walked up the steps and onto the front porch of the white-haired woman's home.

After what seemed to be an eternity, Mira finally released the otherworldly man from her grip, after which she took several steps off to the side and then turned to face him yet again. Ichigo had retracted the umbrella shortly thereafter, feeling it necessary to give the message that he was in no hurry to leave and that if she so desired he would stay for a time and answer whatever question she may have had.

"I… I appreciate you telling me what happened to your mother. I know that had to have been hard for you, so I want to let you know I'm grateful." Mira said, bowing her head slightly to further illustrate her point.

"How I feel about anything right now isn't really all that important. What is important is that you're alright." Ichigo stated, his voice filled with honesty and a small hint of concern.

"You're so sweet… I'm fine…" Mira replied in a somewhat dazed tone.

Each of the two just stood in place, staring into one another's eyes for the time being. Despite himself, even Ichigo wasn't able to take his sights away from the look of genuine gratitude he saw in those two gorgeous blue orbs that were no more than a foot in front of him. Mira had intended them to hold a greater emotion behind them, but he was far too dense to pick up on such things and she didn't quite know that just yet.

The first movements that were made were done by Mira, who had started to step forwards in an attempt to bring their faces closer together, however it was more of a gesture to test the waters. When she saw that the orange-haired teen was still gazing deeply into her own eyes, she decided to gather her courage and allow herself to properly show him how she currently felt.

Unfortunately, the opening of the door caused her to freeze in place just as she began to move forward once more, which snapped both of the Fairy Tail duo out of their trance and directed their gaze towards the entrance to the Strauss household as opposed to each other's eyes.

"Big sister! Are you okay?! I've been worried sick!" Elfman exclaimed, his expression mirroring his distraught tone of speech.

That reaction was perfectly understandable given that it had been pouring outside and that the eldest Strauss had left the guild without giving a real reason. Elfman knew perfectly well where she had gone, but since Mira took great pains to not bring up their younger sister he decided not to mention it to her directly.

Still, his worried expression was replaced by a glare the second after he realized the position that Fairy Tail's latest member, who happened to be a male by gender, was far too close for comfort to his sister, a woman he knew was desired by many, many, many men just off the basis of her looks.

In fact it appeared, at first glance, that his sister was currently making an attempted advance on the substitute. Needless to say, he didn't quite like it.

"Did I interrupt something?" Elfman asked suspiciously, directing a noticeable glare towards the orange-haired teen.

Ichigo and Mira instantly looked at one another and realized their position, after which the former seemed to freeze in place, a blush very much so evident on his face, and the latter backed away, a blush of equal brilliance marking her features.

"I-I'm fine Elfman… thanks to Ichigo." Mira finally replied, giving a genuine smile to the man off at her side.

The only male Strauss sibling looked very closely at the smile his big sister was currently directing at the man to her right, and he knew perfectly well that it wasn't the same cheerful one she constantly sported when at the guild. More importantly, he checked for a reaction from the man it was directed at, and upon seeing the gesture returned in kind, he could swear he felt a painful jolt of electricity through his body.

"Big sis… would you mind if I spoke with Ichigo for a moment." Elfman said in a very stern tone.

"But I…" Mira began to protest.

"Its fine, Mira. If he wants to talk, I have no issues with it." Ichigo stated.

At this, despite the fact that she didn't quite want to, the sapphire-eyed woman nodded her head in understanding and then walked into the house.

'_Elfman, I swear if you do anything I wouldn't want you to…_' Mira thought with a small scowl. Her younger brother was many things, but tactful was not one of them.

She herself knew perfectly well that expressing her feelings to Ichigo without a direct confession was going to be a project, and her pride just wanted him to be the one to make the first move. If Elfman jeopardized that, then he may or may not lose the body part that would officially define him as a 'man'.

The muscular Fairy Tail wizard looked back to see his elder sister walking up the stairs, meaning that she was now out of earshot. A split second later, he turned to the orange-haired teen and his glare completely vanished in favor of a grateful smile.

This, in turn, confused Ichigo a great deal since he didn't quite understand why the man's mood changed so suddenly, but that confusion paled in comparison to that which he felt after what happened next.

'_What the hell?_' Ichigo wondered as the tanned-skinned man captured him in a hug.

The momentary embrace ended as quickly as it began, but even so the orange-haired teen just looked at his fellow guild member with a lost expression as if begging for an explanation. He supposed one would be given, and if not then this would have just been outrageously weird.

"Thank you…" Elfman said in a tone of genuine appreciation.

"What?" Ichigo asked confusedly.

"Whenever our younger sister is brought up, Mira gets really upset… but you can understand why, right? When that happens, I really can't do anything to cheer her up because she doesn't like to talk about it in front of me… and to be honest I don't know if I _could_ talk about it. So… thank you very much for cheering her up. You are most certainly a real man!" Elfman explained.

Two scenarios had existed in the white-haired man's head before he decided on what to do. The first and preferable of the two was that Ichigo had comforted his sister in a time that she sorely needed it, and for that he had to be thankful.

The other, and far less likely but highly more aggravating, was the possibility that the otherworldly man was taking advantage of his sister's emotional state for his own benefit. If that were the case, he'd have punched him through a wall, or at least tried to. However Ichigo clearly wasn't that sort of person, so he didn't really think that was even capable of being described as a possibility.

"Don't mention it. I just hope she feels better." Ichigo stated with a small smile.

Elfman nodded his head in understanding, after which the substitute readied his umbrella and began to walk off. When this occurred, the youngest of the Strauss's bid the man farewell before walking back into his home, his intent now being to speak to his eldest sister.

_**The Strauss Home: In Mirajane's Room**_

The white-haired beauty gazed out of her window at the retreating form of Ichigo Kurosaki with a dreamy look in her eyes. The man had just done her an amazing service, and he probably still only looked at it as helping a friend in need as opposed to anything else.

'_Ichigo… thank you… I don't know if I will ever be able to forgive myself… but maybe one day I will, and I just know I'll have you to thank for it._' Mira thought, holding a lone hand up to her heart as she did so.

She went back to sit on the side of her bed a moment later, her mind now going back and examining the advice she was given just a short time ago. In actuality it was quite simple to think of a reason for wanting her powers back once again, and it was none other than the very reason that Ichigo had offered.

Realistically one of Mira's desires was to protect her family, which included Fairy Tail and which included Ichigo himself. The difficult part, however, was still rooted in letting go of her emotions, the ones that she attached so readily to the memory of losing her sister.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath of air, the white-haired woman adopted a clam expression and focused on what she believed would work. She didn't quite see a reason to put off moving forward any longer. A way was offered, and there was no reason not to make an attempt.

Slowly but surely, she began to shack off her feelings until her mind was clear. The rage she felt at herself, the frustration and sorrow she felt for her sister's death, all of that was put as far away from her current state of mind as possible, which unfortunately meant momentarily displacing the memory of her sister.

'_Okay… now I have to image what I want to protect…_' Mira thought with determination.

The former demon of Fairy Tail began to imagine her comrades, one by one, flashing through her mind. Erza, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Happy, Elfman, Cana, Levy, Jet, Droy, the master, Ichigo, and many others continued to bounce around as images within her mind.

She focused on nothing more than those people relying on her, on those people needing her help so desperately. The reason didn't matter, but the constant factor remained that their pleas were evident.

When this mindset had become absolute, that's when it was felt. Mira's own eyes shot wide open as the very power that had left her for so long once again surged through her veins. The moment that her pseudo-mediation had dropped, the magical energy stopped flowing, but the fact that it was present, if only briefly, was totally undeniable.

"Mira, are you alright?! I just felt a huge spike of magic energy and assumed something bad was happening!" Elfman exclaimed, immediately rushing through the door an instant after the energy had surged. His words, however, elicited no response from his older sister.

'_For a brief moment… I felt it… I felt my magic energy, all of it, come back to me._' Mira thought, her expression one of surprise as she looked down on her hands.

"Mira?" Elfman called once more, breaking the eldest Strauss out of her daze.

"I'm fine… you must have just been imagining things." Mira said, her usual bright smile once again gracing her features.

"Sorry then… I guess I'll let you be. Goodnight, sis." Elfman said.

"Goodnight." Mira replied as her brother closed the door to her room.

_**Out in the Hallway**_

The only male member of the known Strauss family stood in place for a moment, his hand still lightly grasping the doorknob to his sister's room. He had originally possessed the intention to speak with her about what had happened, about what was said to her by Fairy Tail's latest member.

However, after what he just felt he was in a state of shock and didn't even think himself capable of holding a conversation that was even remotely intelligent. Slowly, he began to walk away, a dazed expression marking his face.

'_Ichigo… I don't know what happened… but I felt my big sis's full power, if only for a second. Whatever you said probably holds more weight than you think it did._' Elfman thought.

That raised a very, very high concern that perhaps the substitute had a connection with his elder sister that he currently couldn't do anything about. However, at the moment he chose to overlook it in light of what had happened. It wasn't something he couldn't deal with in the future.

**A/N Okay, so two things. The first is that the pairing is going to be… well, what a lot of you probably thought, which is IchigoxMiraxErza. Probably a bit obvious for a while now, but I figure now is probably the right time to say so! Remember that this is just the primary pairing, it may chance with a third in the future if I feel like it or if you'd all like to see that happen. Also, the next chapter will be posted next Friday as a result of this one being exceedingly long. Not much else to say. **

_**Explanations**_:

**The Body Swap**: Actually a bit of a challenge to write if I am being honest… but the reason I sort-of cut it short was because of how long this chapter wound up being. As for why I kept Ichigo out of it, well there were many reasons, and I don't feel like listing them off xD. I felt it ended up being okay, and the chapter in general is in all honesty one of my favorites that I've written so far.

**What's Next**: The Phantom Lord Arc is what's next!

_**Reviews**_:

**Kyo no Kitsune**: Yes, you did overthink it, but then again I'm not an author that makes things all too predictable so you're doubt is understandable.

**ultima-owner**: He _is _stronger than Hades.

**lijuan**: Ichigo has never been stupid, and is in fact a genius when it comes to times where it is needed, which is especially true when he fights. Hope this chapter was worth the wait! Also, if they made a move on him, he'd probably not notice it, and if it was too direct, he'd probably not know what to do at all.

**GiflFish**: I've never watched Hellsing or Karin, so the answer is no xD. I also cannot answer your second question, but I will say that Erza will _still_ have a major role in that arc, as will he.

**Demons Anarchy**: For the Bankai, the latest it will show up is the Tower of Heaven arc, and I can't really say anything in regards of Edolas given that it's a good bit ahead of where the story is now on top of the fact that it would be spoilers regardless of whether or not there is or is not a version of Ichigo there.

**proverbsrus**: Yes, we will be seeing him.

**Kuroneko**: Believe me, Natsu is definitely _not_ going to be weak in this story. He will still get his time to shine.

**GCAPDTL**: Well, the anniversary of her death would be tricky since the dates in Earthland are weird. However, as you can see, his mother's actual death will just continuously come to light to various characters.


	20. Phantom

**A/N Happy to say that this story is now the #3 on the crossovers of Bleach and Fairy Tail! Hope to take the #1 eventually, but regardless I'd like to thank all of you for your continued support! Well, this chapter's quite a bit shorter than the last one, but this is pretty much the calm before the storm. The next chapter will be around 10k words long and it will be ready by Monday, just wanted to say that. **

**Chapter 20 **

_**Magnolia: Streets Leading up To Fairy Tail **_

"Well that was an awesome job, eh?" Natsu reasoned, a cheerful grin on his face as he and the other members of his practical team walked the streets of the city.

The past day, the very same group of Fairy Tail wizards that had once set out to defeat Eisenwald decided to go on a job request together. This time, however, it hadn't been to destroy a dark guild or really anything remotely as exciting. In fact, it was a very simple job that Lucy had intended to do by herself, though everyone else seemed to insist on coming.

"The client sure seemed to think so." Happy commented.

"Yeah, you guys are just happy I decided to come along." Gray said calmly.

"We're lucky that you _begged _to come with us? How do ya figure?" Natsu sneered.

"Because you're about as helpful as one of Erza's suitcases…" Gray replied.

"Ouch." Ichigo piped in.

"My suitcases aren't useless. I pack everything that I need to be prepared." Erza stated defensively.

"There's a limit to how much you should bring, Erza." Ichigo replied.

"It's never hindered me before." Erza countered.

"I'm not turning this into an argument…" Ichigo sighed out.

"So I've won then?" Erza asked in a tone of superiority.

"No, I just don't feel like trying to explain why you don't need that much luggage." Ichigo replied.

"Yes, and therefore I win." Erza stated, causing a tick mark to pop out of the substitute's forehead.

"Okay, if you wanna be like that…" Ichigo began.

Just as Ichigo and Erza had gotten into a pointless argument, despite the orange-haired teen's initial intent not to do so, Gray and Natsu were butting heads and throwing insults at one another. Happy just watched with a smile, but the last member of their group opted to point something out.

"Um, guys… not that I don't appreciate the help, but when I took this job I was kinda thinkin' it would be a solo mission so why'd ya have to come along?" Lucy asked in as friendly a way as she could. The job request wasn't even remotely exciting and the reward was only five hundred Jewel.

"Come on, isn't it obvious?" Natsu asked rhetorically, clearly believing the blonde knew the answer by default.

"I think so." Ichigo commented.

"Well, no, to me it isn't…" Lucy replied confusedly.

"We're Fairy Tail's strongest team, so we gotta stick together no matter what." Natsu stated matter-of-factly.

"Aye sir!" Happy chirped from atop the ice mage's shoulder.

"And don't you forget it." Gray added.

"Indeed." Erza said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Lucy said cheerfully, obviously being happy that they considered the group a genuine team.

"No job is too tough for us!" Natsu cheered.

"So far you're right… but don't you think we need a team name? Levy's has one, so shouldn't we as well?" Lucy reasoned.

The group adopted an expression of deep thought at the blonde's words, each now giving consideration to what the answer for that very question should be. After a short while, the pink-haired fire mage snapped his fingers in retaliation, directing all eyes to him before he chose began to speak.

"I've got it! How about Team Strawberry?" Natsu offered.

At this, everyone in the present group began to laugh, and even Erza had to place a hand over her mouth to at least sound somewhat respectful. The object of the presumed joke, however, was far less cheerful as evident by the fact that he began to growl, a clearly annoyed look currently marking his face.

"I swear Natsu, one more crack about my name…" Ichigo trailed off warningly.

"Oh come on! Erza, back me up here. You love strawberries and they're even in your favorite food." Natsu pointed out, actually causing the requip user to adopt an expression of thought.

'_She's actually considering it?!_' Ichigo wondered angrily.

"That _is_ true…" Erza mused, lightly grasping her chin to show that she actually was considering the proposal.

"I'd be up for it." Gray stated.

"I'm game." Lucy commented.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

"I hate you all." Ichigo said childishly, a scowl and glare now evident on his features.

"Aw come on, don't be like that… strawberry." Natsu jibbed in a friendly manner.

The orange-haired teen turned and glared heavily at his comrade, but before he could shout anything in order to counter what was just said, he noticed something that he hadn't before. In fact, they all seemed to notice it.

As they walked through the mildly populated streets that led towards the guildhall, people were staring at them and whispering in hushed tones. Upon first glance, it couldn't have been anything positive as everyone seemed to be rather glum or concerned.

"Why is everyone staring at us?" Natsu wondered aloud, being the first to raise that particular question.

"Maybe it's our hair color? I mean, orange and pink aren't really standard, and back in my world this happened a lot. It stopped after I started to kick peoples' asses though…" Ichigo mused.

"I don't think so…" Erza trailed off warily.

A moment later the group rounded the nearest street corner, after which the guildhall they all knew and love came into view, or at least its general outline. When that happened, however, each of them froze in place.

"W-What the hell?" Ichigo muttered, staring at odd-looking structure that seemed to be exactly where the guild was located. It wasn't that he believed the building had been replaced, but given how it appeared he was too shocked for the time being to consider otherwise.

"The guildhall…" Lucy trailed off, staring at the building's warped form.

The home of the Fairy Tail wizards appeared just as tall as it normally did, but several large objects giving off a pole-like appearance seemed to be sticking out of it. On top of that, several large extensions of broken wood exuded from the points the objects were protruding out of, giving off the impression of some sort of attack.

"Let's hurry and get back at once!" Erza exclaimed, after which she ran off. No one else said a word thereafter, each just preferring to investigate what on earth was going on.

_**Outside Fairy Tail's Guildhall, Some Time Later…**_

"What happened…" Gray trailed off in a tone of disbelief.

Before his and everyone else's eyes was the form of a battered and desecrated guildhall, though it wasn't just some building, it was their home away from home. The pole-like objects were now exactly as they seemed, however they were made of metal and definitely lodged into the building by and attacker.

"Someone did this to our guild!" Natsu growled out, knowing full well that this wasn't an accident of any kind. There was such a clear malicious intent behind the building's damage that even a blind person could clearly see it.

"Who the hell would do something like this?" Ichigo asked in an aggravated tone, his eyes narrowing at the destroyed guildhall.

At this moment in time, he didn't really consider anything else being a possibility. The building had clearly been attacked, the attacker had meant to cause a significant amount of damage, and if it turned out that anyone in their guild had been hurt, it didn't even matter who, then he would personally seek out the perpetrator and deal with whoever it was by force.

"Clearly someone who doesn't like living." Gray growled out.

Just as everyone was giving consideration as to who could have possibly done this, another person decided to grant clarification on the issue. Behind them, the strained voice of another who appeared to be deeply hurt by the guild's destruction spoke out.

"It was Phantom…" Mira stated in a tone just above a whisper, her voice heavy with grief.

"Phantom did this?!" Natsu inquired in a tone that gave off a severe hint of bloodlust.

"We couldn't do anything to stop them… they got us good." Mira continued, tears nearly coming into her eyes.

"Who are they and where can I go to teach them a lesson?" Ichigo immediately asked, a very keen intent to do so lighting up in his eyes.

"Yeah, count me in on that one…" Natsu stated, pounding his right fist into the palm of his opposite hand in an effort to at least lessen his already substantial desire to destroy something.

"It may not be that easy, Ichigo." Erza said in a disappointed tone, though it wasn't directed at the substitute himself.

"What do you mean? These guys attacked us, right?" Ichigo reasoned.

"Erza's right… come with me, I can explain along the way. Right now everyone is using the basement since the main room is destroyed." Mira sated.

_**Guildhall's Basement**_

"Wait, so these guys are another _legal_ guild?" Ichigo asked confusedly as he and the others ventured down the stairs towards the lowest levels of the guildhall.

Thus far he had been informed that the guild known as Phantom Lord, or at least someone who was a part of it, was responsible for what had happened to their guildhall. However, no one was hurt, despite such substantial damage being caused, and the number of perpetrators and their affiliation with the mentioned guild were not known.

Still, the substitute had also been told that the two guilds had always been at odds with one another, mostly over the title of Magnolia's strongest guild. Thus far, Fairy Tail was their equal in terms of strength though many people would say they were indeed stronger than Phantom. Perhaps this wasn't a good motive altogether for Phantom to do what they presumably did, but even so more malicious and devastating attacks had been mounted for less.

"Yes, and that's why taking any action right now may be dangerous since we don't really have proof that a member of their guild did it on orders." Mira explained.

"What kind of a crappy reason is that?!" Natsu exclaimed, though before he continue with his outburst he was silenced courtesy of a stern smack on the back of his head.

"Calm down, Natsu." Erza stated calmly as the dragon slayer rubbed the impact point.

"What did the old man say about all of this?" Ichigo questioned.

He had figured that since they were actually attacked it was ultimately up to Makarov in terms of what they decided to do, if anything. The situation itself was just entirely too complicated and at the moment nothing was truly known about it other than that someone from or affiliated with Phantom Lord attacked Fairy Tail.

Given that no one was hurt, he had allowed himself to calm down slightly, though that didn't mean he'd sit idly by if it came down to it. After all, he was no stranger to tearing down something that tried to harm something precious to him.

"You can ask him yourself…" Mira trialed off as the group walked down the stairs.

Immediately after entering the basement, the white-haired woman pointed towards a nearby pile of crates. Atop said pile of wooden crates was none other than the master himself, a rather evident alcohol-induced blush covering his cheeks and a mug of beer gripped tightly in his right hand.

'_I don't believe it…_' Ichigo thought with a deadpanned expression. Of all the things he expected the old man to do, this was definitely not one of them.

"Yo, what's up kids?" Makarov asked in a drunken tone, waving towards the group of returning members.

"Uh… hi." Lucy replied warily, taking distinct notice of how plowed the guild's technical leader was.

"You're kidding me, right?" Ichigo whispered, turning towards the barmaid as he did so.

Mira just looked at the substitute with a sad smile and shrugged her shoulders. She had her own guesses as to why the master decided to drink his troubles away for the time being, but in truth she didn't know the exact reason so it wasn't really her place to say anything.

"Why is everyone just sittin' around here doin' nothing?!" Natsu exclaimed angrily.

"How'd it go Lucy… did you finish the job like a good girl?" Makarov inquired, having obviously ignored what the pink-haired teen had said.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Lucy replied, sounding lost.

"Master, do you understand the gravity of the situation?" Erza questioned with a raised brow.

The redheaded wizard did have a high tolerance for the master's eccentricities and laid-back attitude because she respected him a great deal. Still, getting drunk at a time like this in no way appeared to be an acceptable solution no matter how she chose to look at it.

"What're ya gettin' so worked up about? It's not the end of the world…" Makarov replied before taking another sip from his mug.

"What?" Natsu and Gray growled out simultaneously, their words mimicking Ichigo's thoughts.

"If ya ask me, it just goes to show how cowardly those dunderheads at Phantom really are. They hit us when no one was here." Makarov added.

"Does that really make a difference? They attacked the guildhall and beat the living hell out of it. Granted it's not my decision, but I just want to know if you really think that letting them get away with it is really the best choice?" Ichigo questioned, his tone possessing a slight edge.

Most everyone picked up on the tone of the substitute as well as the general look in his eyes. The brown piercing orbs of the otherworldly man stared directly into the dazed ones of the master, which made several nearest to them think that a potential fight was going to break out over recent events.

From Ichigo's perspective, he was never trying to give off the intent to enter conflict with the master, but he did need to bring himself to understand his real feelings on the matter. Even drunk, if the master's next words turned out to be false, he'd know.

"…I do." Makarov replied, a drunken smile still etched on his face.

For a moment, the orange-haired teen's expression shifted to one of annoyance, but shortly thereafter it returned to his normal expression. While he didn't necessarily agree with Makarov's attitude towards the situation, he did understand that whatever was going on was more complicated than he cared to understand.

"Fine… if that's what you really think." Ichigo said, causing many nearby guild members to sigh out of relief.

Not many people understood the look in his eyes when he was searching through a man's soul to find answers, but that was too be expected given that he pretty much only ever did that when he was fighting or about to fight, therefore the two looks just happened to coincide.

Even so, he could tell that this wasn't what the old man had wanted. It was the look of someone who was deciding to take the hit because retaliating would be too costly given the current circumstances, and if Makarov really believed that was the case then Ichigo would go along with it. If anything like this ever happened again, however, he'd personally drag whoever did it back to the guildhall to become his personal punching bag. But the master didn't need to know that for the time being.

"What?! How can you be fine with this?!" Natsu shouted angrily, destroying a nearby wooden crate that fortunately contained nothing.

"I don't wish to discuss this anymore." Makarov stated childishly.

"You… you…" Natsu began, though a hand on his shoulder courtesy of Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard stopped him dead in his speech.

"Natsu… if the master wishes for us not to retaliate then we must respect it." Erza said solemnly.

The dragon slayer released a slight grunt, after which he angrily rid his shoulder of his friend's arm and stormed over to a remote corner of the basement in order to calm himself down. That reaction was perfectly understandable, however, given that most everyone in the guild wanted to at least do something, they just hid their anger much better.

"Hey, old man, can you answer a question for me?" Ichigo asked evenly.

"Sure, what'd ya wanna know my boy?" Makarov inquired cheerfully, a wide smile gracing his lips.

"Why are you drunk in the middle of the day?" Ichigo questioned confusedly.

"Because I can have more fun this way!" Makarov replied joyously.

The second after the elderly wizard spoke he brought up his hand and extended it forward to quite literally smack the orange-haired teen's ass. That, shortly thereafter, drew many confused and worried stares from those around who could see the annoyance etched on the face of the guild's latest member.

"Hand's to yourself and off of Ichigo's ass, master." Mira said warningly, a glare fixed firmly on the drunken man's form, after which her pseudo-demand was granted.

"Oh, sorry, I thought it was Lucy's." Makarov replied, chuckling after he did so.

"Do I look like a blonde to you?!" Ichigo shouted in mock-anger.

"You forgot the 'incredibly cute part', and no, you don't." Lucy commented, still managing to be rather vain in the wake of all that had occurred.

"He is cute though!" A female shouted from some corner of the guild.

"That's not the point!" Ichigo shouted back, a blush lightly covering his cheeks as he did so.

Incidentally he, and most everyone else, happened to miss the look of irritation that graced the faces of both Mira as well as Fairy Tail's strongest female. They may or may not have subsequently wasted the rest of the day subtly searching for who had said this.

_**Magnolia: Outside Lucy's Home, Later that Night…**_

"Hm… I had no idea that another legal guild would do something like that." Lucy thought aloud.

The guildhall, for the remainder of the day, had consisted of Natsu pouting, Ichigo trying to calm him down while simultaneously considering action himself, Gray sulking in an opposite corner in an effort to calm himself, Erza trying to maintain order, the master drinking, and Mira continuously serving people whatever they requested since the majority of the food and supplies were actually located in the basement. All in all, the only thing out of the ordinary was the location.

Well, that wasn't necessarily true. The mood was extremely different than the usual rowdy sense of comradery that almost always coated the building's atmosphere. On any normal day, Lucy would want it gone, but now that it was she preferred how it was as opposed to the current gloomy disposition everyone currently shared.

'_Also, that guild… I remember hearing about them when I had thought of joining. They weren't ever first in the rankings, but they are usually just behind Fairy Tail._' Lucy thought.

Still, she'd never change the guild that she had chosen to join. Fairy Tail was where she belonged, and, though she would never admit it, she thanked god every day that she met Natsu and was able to successfully join that particular guild.

That's why it pained her in some ways to see someone get away with hurting her extended family. The blonde wasn't one to allow her emotions to get the better of her when it counted, but now was a time when she was struggling to do so. However everyone seemed that way, more or less.

"I was surprised that we aren't doing anything… but still, the master knows best I suppose." Lucy said to herself as she approached her home.

The very second that the entrance to her rented living area was within her eyesight, she took note that a certain orange-haired teen was sitting down, his back leaned against the wall directly next to her door with a bored expression present on his face. Oddly enough, though, he had a book in his hands that she never recalled seeing him with beforehand.

"Hey Ichigo, whatcha readin'?" Lucy asked curiously, stopping directly in front of her door in expectation of what was to come. Her question, or rather the nature in which it was asked, caused the orange-haired teen to release a quiet gasp of surprise before he chose to answer.

"It's a book on Magnolia's guilds… um, you seem pretty calm right now. Since I'm here, you should know who else is, right?" Ichigo questioned in a confused tone, prompting the blonde to shrug her shoulders in response.

"Meh, it doesn't really surprise me that Natsu and Happy are here. I'll just yell at them when I get in." Lucy mused, after which she made to open the door.

"But it's not just…" Ichigo began, though it was far too late to warn his friend.

The celestial spirit mage opened the door only to be greeted by the sight of Erza, Gray, Natsu, and Happy each sitting at the living room table with somewhat cheerful expressions on their faces.

"Oh, hey Lucy, how're ya…" Natsu said.

"Who said you could come in?!" Lucy shouted, kicking the dragon slayer directly in his cheek and effectively sending him across the room.

Ichigo just watched the pink-haired teen release a tired groan and simply not move, himself being confused as to why Natsu had been the first target of her rage. Even right now, she still appeared to expect an answer despite the fact that the fire mage wasn't able to currently give one.

"You have a lovely home, Lucy. It's quite nice." Erza stated before taking a sip of her beverage from a little wooden teacup.

"Why are you two here as well?" Lucy questioned in an exasperated tone.

"Calm down, they actually have a good reason. By the way, I did tell you this is exactly what would happen if you just broke in." Ichigo sated, looking towards the scarlet-haired woman as he walked over to pick his comrade up off of the floor.

"If Lucy is truly bothered by it, then she may…" Erza began.

"…strike you down if she wishes?" Ichigo finished, cutting the redhead off and prompting her to glare lightly at him.

"It's rude to interrupt people." Erza stated matter-of-factly.

"It's _also_ rude to walk into people's homes when they aren't there." Ichigo countered.

"Noted… but I still don't see why it matters in the grand scheme of things." Erza replied.

"Well sure you don't care, but Natsu's the one who got hit." Ichigo said.

"Anyway… the reason for our being here is because at the moment we can assume that members of Phantom Lord are in town. Therefore I believe it would be safer if we stick together in case they choose to attack us as individuals." Erza explained, getting back to the topic at hand.

"They'd attack us?!" Lucy exclaimed fearfully.

"Yeah, and by now they probably know where everyone lives." Gray added.

"If that's the case, then I guess she's right…" Lucy replied, now being inwardly thankful for her female companion's foresight.

"Sure, after she almost knocks me out ya explain it to her." Natsu complained as he cracked his jaw.

"If you had waited outside with me in the first place then you wouldn't have gotten hit." Ichigo stated matter-of-factly.

"You just think you're so clever, don't you?" Natsu asked rhetorically.

"From time to time…" Ichigo replied with a small smirk.

_**Lucy's Home: Main Bedroom, Some Time Later…**_

"Hm… is it… brown?" Natsu asked curiously.

"Nope." Ichigo replied.

"Is it… red?" Natsu inquired.

"Yes… a specificshade of red." Ichigo replied, trying to lead the pink-haired teen into the proper guess.

Thus far the night had gone by in a fairly uneventful manner. Gray had just sat on the bed with a tired expression on his face, Erza had been going through Lucy's clothing, despite the blonde's protests, and Happy alongside Plu were eating various types of candy. Natsu and Ichigo, however, were currently playing I-Spy in an effort to kill the current state of boredom. Who it was that requested the game be played need not be said.

"I got it, Lucy's panties!" Natsu exclaimed, his tone giving off the impression that he believed this was the case.

"How do you know what color my underwear are?!" Lucy shouted angrily.

"I told him." Happy chirped.

"I'm going to kill this cat!" Lucy proclaimed, glaring at the object of her ire all the while.

"More importantly… Ichigo, why were _you_ looking at Lucy's panties?" Erza asked, a dark aura emanating from her being.

"What the hell is wrong with you people?! I wasn't talking about Lucy's underwear, I was talking about Erza's hair! I didn't even know what color they were in the first place!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Oh… well I suppose that isn't deplorable." Erza thought aloud, her anger seemingly vanishing.

"Ya think?" Gray asked rhetorically.

"What was that?" Erza growled out warningly, having picked up on the raven-haired man's slight insult.

"N-Nothing!" Gray instantly replied.

"That's what I thought… however right now we have a serious issue to discuss. Natsu, Gray, you boys' hygiene… I refuse to stay in the same area with boys who refuse to bathe. Go take a bath at once!" Erza ordered.

"Nope." Natsu simply replied, simultaneously shaking his head.

"Meh, I don't feel like it…" Gray said through a yawn.

"Don't sleep on my bed!" Lucy shouted in an annoyed fashion.

"Why should we have to take a bath anyway?" Gray asked, ignoring the blonde's demands.

"Yeah, and why don't you get on Ichigo's case too?" Natsu added.

"Because, unlike the two of you, I shower every day and don't smell like a forest." Ichigo stated uncaringly.

"I don't smell like a forest… much…" Natsu trialed off.

"I don't either… I think. At the very least I'm not as bad as Natsu is." Gray mumbled in an unsure tone before crossing his arms and took up an expression of consideration.

"But yes, Ichigo does smell fine… most likely because strawberry's have such a wonderful natural scent." Erza stated, eliciting a round of laughter from most present save for the actual target of her joke.

"I swear, one more time Erza…" Ichigo trailed off warningly, obviously not being content with his namesake being insulted so continuously.

He never did understand why people happened to get it wrong in the first place. After all, there really wasn't a person on the planet that would name their child after a fruit. Not in this one, or the one he was born on.

"By the way, I still ain't getting a bath." Natsu scoffed, after which he went back to his favorite pastime of being bored and doing nothing in the blonde's bedroom.

"Me neither." Gray stated.

"Now, now boys… if it helps, perhaps we can take a bath together like when we were kids." Erza offered with a sly smirk, knowing full well what the effects of her words would be.

That instantly accomplished several things in quick succession. First and foremost, Gray and Natsu turned the color of ghosts and gained a sudden interest in personal cleanliness. Secondly, both Ichigo and Lucy looked at the redhead with an expression of absolute disbelief.

"Nope, we're good!" Natsu and Gray replied instantly, running towards the closest bathroom a split-second thereafter.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Ichigo exclaimed, clearly shocked by what was just said.

"I have no issues bathing with two people I consider to be brothers." Erza replied blankly.

"Is that supposed to make it better?" Ichigo asked in a tone of disbelief.

"Doesn't it?" Erza countered.

"Well… yeah, I guess, but it's still really damn weird!" Ichigo stated.

"Agreed." Lucy piped in.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

Each of the remaining three sat at the table within Lucy's bedroom in silence for some time while Happy and Lucy's technical pet continued to eat candy they had somehow managed to find in the house. In the silence, however, a certain orange-haired teen noticed something he hadn't before. During all the commotion it somehow escaped his view, but he felt it was odd enough that he needed to address it.

"By the way, Erza, I just noticed something… this is the first time I think I've ever seen you without your armor on." Ichigo thought aloud, somewhat shocked that he didn't notice it prior.

True enough, the scarlet-haired woman was currently wearing the same attire on her lower body but as opposed to her traditional armor she was currently wearing a sleeveless collared shirt with a blue ribbon tied just above her breasts.

Actually this had been the first time he had gotten to see her true appearance when she wasn't about to fight, and she really did have a rather nice figure. In fact, her breasts were about as big as Mirajane's, not that he was comparing the two directly mind you.

"Yeah… wow, Erza, you really do look different." Lucy commented, sounding equally surprised that she too had yet to notice.

"Yes… but I believe this attire is not quite appropriate for the occasion." Erza thought aloud.

A moment later her body was engulfed in a bright light, showing that she had used her requip magic in order to take on a new appearance. When the light had died down, it was revealed that she had opted to put on a pair of pink and purple pajamas with crosses pattered throughout the garment.

"There, that's better." Erza sighed out.

"Wait, is that really how you change your clothes?" Ichigo asked, sounding somewhat confused.

"Yes, indeed it is. To me it seems so much more efficient and since I have the room in my magical space I don't see why I shouldn't use my magic in such a way." Erza reasoned.

"Fair point." Ichigo replied.

Inwardly he wished he could change his clothes so easily, no matter how lazy he knew that would make him seem. At the very least he wished that he could swap his soul form and his human form in such a way, but for the moment that seemed impossible.

'_Still… that'd be a hell of a lot more convenient then having to leave my body somewhere every time I fight._' Ichigo thought wistfully.

_**Some Time Later…**_

"Now was that so hard?" Erza asked upon the missing two members of their group returning from the bathroom.

The two made no verbal reply, rather they simply grunted out of annoyance and crossed their arms in an agitated fashion. Still, neither of them really had the guts to go against the redheaded woman in such a confined area where escape wouldn't be possible in a short amount of time.

"I thought not. And now you don't reek of sweat." Erza stated.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" They mumbled in unison before sitting back down on the table.

"Hey Erza, can you answer a question for me?" Lucy inquired, sounding rather pensive as if what she was about to ask was something she had been meaning to for some time.

"Yes, you may ask away." Erza permitted.

"Why would Phantom Lord attack us like they did? I don't really see a reason, so I just want to know if you had any idea." Lucy stated.

"I can't say that I really know the answer to that question. We have had our fair share of scuffles with them in the past, but never on anything of this sort of magnitude before." Erza replied.

"Tch… if gramps wasn't so scarred of them we could wipe out those punks for good." Natsu griped.

"Come on, you know the master isn't afraid of them Natsu. He's one of the Ten Wizard Saints, remember?" Gray stated from his seated position at Lucy's desk.

The raven-haired teen raised a good point, which was clearly illustrated when the dragon slayer just huffed in response. Still, two individuals present within the room didn't quite know the meaning behind Gray's words.

"Wait, what's a… hey, I never gave you permission to read that!" Lucy exclaimed, taking immediate notice that the ice wizard currently held the novel she had been writing within the palm of his hand in a nonchalant manner.

Almost immediately thereafter she grabbed the collection of papers from his hand, much to his disappointment and Erza's confusion given that she didn't know what the pile of papers even was.

"Hey, you can't just snatch that outta my hands without at least tellin' me what happens next." Gray said reaching towards the papers that were currently being gripped rather tightly by the blonde-haired woman.

"Yes, I can. Besides, I promised Levy that she could be the first one to read it." Lucy replied.

"Oh, I didn't know you and she had gotten to talk yet." Ichigo said, interjecting into the conversation.

"Yeah, she's a nice person and she was really supportive when she talked to me about it. She really loves books too, so maybe she can give me her opinion when I finally finish writing my novel." Lucy stated.

"Hmm…" Erza trailed off in an attempt to gain the blonde's attention.

"You're not getting to read it either!" Lucy exclaimed upon turning towards the woman and seeing that she was gesturing a hand as if to say she wished to be given the collection of writing.

"By the way, you seemed like you wanted to ask something before you started to yell at Gray." Ichigo commented.

"Oh yeah… I wanted to know what the Ten Wizards Saints are supposed to be." Lucy stated.

"Well they're the ten strongest wizards in the magical world, at least the legitimate ones. The master's one of 'em, and the rest of the Wizard Saints are just as strong as he is, if not stronger." Gray answered.

"That just means he's being even more spineless than I thought." Natsu sneered.

"Not at all, Natsu. From what I've read about Phantom so far, it looks like their master… Jose, I think his name is, is also one of the Ten Wizard Saints. That means that if we went to war with them than we'd definitely cause more harm than good. That's also just assuming that both of them fight it out. If everyone else got involved… I can't think of the damage it would cause." Ichigo stated.

To him, at least, this was a very straightforward issue and the old man's decision, for now, appeared to be the best one. No one had been hurt, and should the two guilds essentially go to war that would not only bring about all forms of chaos but also put innocent lives in danger during the process. Then there was the fact that the Magic Council would likely become involved and above all else Ichigo desperately didn't want for them to get the impression he was here to start trouble.

"Ichigo is right, Natsu, we can't go to war with Phantom over something like this because the risk would be far too great. Should anything else happen, then we will give it special consideration, but given that no one was hurt and the master is against any form of retaliation our hands are tied." Erza said in agreement.

"Tch, figures…" Natsu scoffed.

**A/N Once again I'd just like to thank everyone period for supporting me! You're all fantastic and I hope you love the story as much as I do writing it! The next chapter will be posted on Monday, so until then! **

_**Explanations**_:

**Is Ichigo really Calm about this?**: Nope, not at all. He's suppressing his anger a good bit, but I guess that you could say… if something bad _were_ to happen in the future, it might erupt. Who knows what that means, right?

**What's Next?**: Next chapter has a special surprise, that's all I really have to say ;P

_**Reviews**_:

**cecebeec**: I _know_ what will happen, but I cant tell you, now can I? :P

**Krazyfanfiction1**: Thanks, and could Ichigo basically make Getsuga Tenshou into a cero blast? No, not really. Could I make him do that? Yeah, but I'd more likely allow him to learn how to use a cero instead since he _technically_ should be able to do that. Not to say I will do that, but I am saying that it is a possibility.

**Pokemaster94**: Given what happens in the future, don't expect the spar to occur in the near future. It will happen, and when it does it will have more of an impact than a lot of people probably thought, but yeah, that's basically all I have to say.

**Cloud Narukami**: Hmmm… I can't really answer your question, but I can say that I won't not consider adding one of them. Feel free to unscramble these words as you see fit xD.

**Omega Collaborative**: It was in the anime as it was the story of Happy's birth, I assume that was in the manga as well but I don't really know. Either way, it's around the few episodes before the Phantom Lord Arc, in fact it is I believe the episode immediately before the guild is attacked.

**SpartanPrime101**: Can't answer that question, unfortunately. ;)

**cellum95**: Well, he could explain that if it were to happen, but he cant explain that his inner hollow is really his zanpakuto given that even he doesn't know that yet, and he realistically wont figure that out in this fic.

**Hotsreak's crossover stories**: I believe I answer this over PM.

**Guest (1)**: Yes.

**Dp11**: I went by the occurrence of events in the anime. I haven't read the beginning of the manga, so I don't really know if the attack from Phantom happened immediately after they got back, but honestly I just wanted to include a few things so it worked out better this way.

**Guest (2)**: As I say just about every time I talk about the pairing, yes there is a potential for a third, but I can't say who.

**DarkPirateKing69**: I get what you mean, but just image how much this makes you look forward to the time I _don't _have it happen ;P

**Spider-Man999**: Of course.

**lijuan**: There isn't really any human in the realm of Fairy Tail that's a match for Ichigo outside of Zeref, who can't really kill Ichigo because he is immune to death magic. Will I eventually create a situation where someone comes along that is close to his strength as he is now? Can't say ;(

**Guest (3)**: Depends on how you look at the timeline, but yeah. It also is happening after the Galuna Arc.

**hollow96**: Maybe… guess you'll just have to wait and see.

**Exanime Draco**: There will, of course, come a time when this story diverges from canon completely never to return to it for quite some time. Expect a lot more original stuff from here on out, but the relative events that occur like the Phantom Lord Arc will remain the same because some things you just can't edit out.

**Matsuki Sakata**: Yup.


	21. The Path of War

**A/N As promised, this chapter is long, and the next one will be posted next Monday. Until then, enjoy! **

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 21 **

"That just means he's being even more spineless than I thought." Natsu sneered.

"Not at all, Natsu. From what I've read about Phantom so far, it looks like their master… Jose, I think his name is, is also one of the Ten Wizard Saints. That means that if we went to war with them than we'd definitely cause more harm than good. That's also just assuming that both of them fight it out. If everyone else got involved… I can't think of the damage it would cause." Ichigo stated.

To him, at least, this was a very straightforward issue and the old man's decision, for now, appeared to be the best one. No one had been hurt, and should the two guilds essentially go to war that would not only bring about all forms of chaos but also put innocent lives in danger during the process. Then there was the fact that the Magic Council would likely become involved and above all else Ichigo desperately didn't want for them to get the impression he was here to start trouble.

"Ichigo is right, Natsu, we can't go to war with Phantom over something like this because the risk would be far too great. Should anything else happen, then we will give it special consideration, but given that no one was hurt and the master is against any form of retaliation our hands are tied." Erza said in agreement.

"Tch, figures…" Natsu scoffed.

_**Lucy's Home, The Next Morning…**_

The orange-haired teen released a loud yawn upon picking his head up from the floor of Lucy's bedroom. Oddly enough, he had managed to get a good night's sleep despite sleeping on a hard wood surface again, but perhaps that only meant his tolerance for it was increasing.

"Well good morning." Erza greeted cheerfully, revealing herself to be standing by the doorway in her usual attire as opposed to her pajamas.

"Mornin' Erza…" Ichigo replied, getting up as he did so.

The two looked back at the still sleeping forms of their comrades, after which they looked at one another and Ichigo gestured to the door. Erza nodded in agreement, obviously seeing the need to allow their friends to rest as much as they could.

_**Downstairs, A Few Second Later…**_

"You know I don't understand how they can sleep for such a long period of time." Erza thought aloud as the two sat down at the wooden table in the kitchen.

"After what happened yesterday, I guess it's a good sign they can sleep so soundly." Ichigo commented.

"I suppose you're right…" Erza replied.

"Speaking of which, did you sleep well?" Ichigo asked in a friendly manner.

"Yes, actually I did, and yourself?" Erza responded in kind.

"Same… but I don't know if that's a good thing. I've always hated sleeping on hard floors and I think that I'm starting to get used to it because I fall out of the damn hammock at Natsu's home from time to time." Ichigo replied, chuckling slightly as he finished.

The two then opted to get a drink of their own choice, after which they sat back down and silently enjoyed the morning. Even so, it was very clear that something was left to be said.

"Ichigo, I've been meaning to ask you something…" Erza began, gaining the substitute's attention.

"What might that be?" Ichigo inquired blankly.

"I wanted to ask you when…" Erza said, only to stop upon giving consideration to something.

Each and every time that she had tried to ask this very question, a certain blonde-haired celestial wizard would tend to interrupt. It had been true thus far that it had been inadvertent, but even so that still was an interruption that she truly didn't want to occur anymore.

"I will return momentarily." Erza stated before walking off.

Ichigo just watched with a confused expression on his face as the redheaded woman walked directly up the stairs and seemed to stop to check on their comrades as if to make sure that they were still sound asleep.

Just as she had said, Erza returned a moment later and took her seat across from Ichigo once more, clearing her throat as she did so. She knew what she had just done most likely confused the orange-haired teen a great deal, but if it meant her question would actually be asked this time, she didn't really care.

"I wanted to ask you when… actually, never mind. I… I don't really believe this is the appropriate time to ask such a thing." Erza stated, sounding highly disappointed.

"You can still go ahead and ask… I mean, I don't really mind being asked anything, you know. I can't guarantee I will answer it if it's too personal, but that doesn't mean I won't let you ask it in the first place." Ichigo said in reassurance.

"After everything has calmed down, I wanted to know if you would be open to finally having the spar that we discussed a short while ago." Erza explained, eliciting a slight chuckle from the substitute.

"That's what you wanted to know? Why wouldn't I be okay with that question? Oh, and I guess to actually answer it, no, I don't have a problem with that." Ichigo replied, seemingly to the scarlet-haired wizard's relief.

"Good… I must say that I will be looking forward to it." Erza thought aloud.

Yet another bout of silence kicked in between the two, thought this time it didn't appear that the person desiring to say something was Fairy Tail's practical queen. This time it was a certain Substitute Soul Reaper who had something on his mind, and he soon chose to voice it.

"Erza… how do you feel about what happened with Phantom so far?" Ichigo abruptly questioned, somewhat to his friend's surprise.

"I mean, I know that you said you were fine with not doing anything back at the guild and last night, but I never asked you exactly what you felt about it." Ichigo explained.

"While… while I may have appeared calm back at the guild for the sake of everyone else, I must admit that I was filled with anger at what had happened. I personally wish to fight back, but doing so goes against my better judgment since such a course of action would be brash and ill-conceived on top of being against the master's wishes." Erza explained.

"I see… I kinda figured you weren't entirely okay with what had happened." Ichigo thought aloud.

"What about you? How do you feel about what happened?" Erza questioned.

The scarlet-haired woman practically knew what the answer was going to be, mainly because the two were so similar in her eyes. The only real difference between the two in this instance was the fact that Erza was a bit better at hiding the fact that she wanted to take action, while on the opposite side of the spectrum the orange-haired teen made it very aspirant he disliked the inaction, though he still went along with it.

"I am beyond angry at what happened. Even though I've only been a member of Fairy Tail for a short while, I let someone get away with hurting the guild. I'm not the type of person that let's that kind of thing slide, and if I had to tell you the truth I wouldn't have listened to the master if anyone had gotten hurt. If that had happened, I would've tracked down whoever did it and taught them a lesson." Ichigo replied, a scowl and glare coming onto his features at the thought of what he would do should something like that happen.

'_Then we really are of a similar opinion in that sense…_' Erza thought, inwardly smiling at the fact that the man was so protective of their guild.

"I guess I should add that this isn't exclusive to this one time… if I find out that Phantom has hurt anyone in our guild, I'm going to get payback." Ichigo stated.

"If that day should come, then I will gladly fight alongside you for the protection of Fairy Tail." Erza said, a small smile forming on her lips.

"That makes two of us." Ichigo replied, returning the friendly gesture by smiling slightly himself.

Before the conversation could continue, however, a loud and urgent banging on the door caused both of them to immediately look towards the front of the home with widened eyes. The knocks were so loud that they even managed to wake up the remainder of those upstairs, which was evident by the fact that a small girlish scream coupled by several thuds were heard.

"Wake up! If any of you are in here you need to get up now!" Mira's voice called out from behind the door.

Both Ichigo and Erza immediately ran towards the front of the home and opened the door without delay, after which they saw a very saddened and concerned Mirajane sighing at the sight of their evident good health.

"Thank god you're alright…" Mira sighed out, clenching her heart as she did so.

"Mira, what happened?" Erza asked confusedly, noticing the distressed look in the barmaid's eyes and mannerisms.

"It's horrible… it's Phantom, they…" Mira began, only to stop as she seemed to have be out of breath.

At this, Ichigo's eyes shot wide open. Now he knew full well that something had happened, and if the saddened appearance of the white-haired barmaid was anything to go by, it wasn't good.

"Mira… what happened?" Ichigo asked, a high level of anger in his tone though it clearly wasn't directed at the woman in front of him.

_**Magnolia: Town Square, Some Time Later…**_

Ichigo, Gray, Natsu, Erza, Lucy, Happy, and Mira currently stood in front of a large tree, each currently being speechless either out of rage, sadness, or disbelief. Immediately at their front, three Fairy Tail guild members were hanging from a tree, their bodies battered and beaten.

Among the three were Levy, Jet, and Droy, the three person team that Ichigo had met only just recently. That, however, wasn't really the most glaring thing about the practical crucified appearance of the three wizards.

Directly on Levy's stomach as she hung on the tree, unconscious and bruised, was the insignia of Phantom Lord tattooed on the skin directly over her stomach. Seeing this, Ichigo's fists balled up so hard that had the force almost caused his hands to bleed, and at the same time Natsu began to shake with rage.

"Levy… Jet… Droy…" Lucy sighed out worriedly, almost being brought to tears as a result of seeing her new friends and guild mates in such a sorry state.

"Phantom Lord did this…" Natsu growled out.

Immediately after this was said, the master himself began to walk towards the tree in his wizard saint attire, clad in a white-furred overcoat with a wooden staff in his hand. Despite his usual carefree nature, an aura of rage and anger exuded from his being.

"Master…" Erza uttered in a tone of disbelief, unable to take her eyes off of her three comrade's forms.

"I can deal with our guild's headquarters being trashed… but I will not allow harm to come to my children without taking revenge!" Makarov roared angrily, snapping the wooden staff within his hands out of pure rage.

"That's all I needed to hear… Mira, can you hold on to my body? I think we've got some business to take care of." Ichigo requested.

The white-haired woman looked at the substitute and nodded, after which he grabbed the combat pass and entered his spirit form. This time was different from any other she had seen, however, as his eyes and body gave off an aura the likes of which she, alongside everyone else, had never felt.

'_I can feel his energy emanating from his very being… is this what his power truly feels like?_' Erza wondered.

It seemed that everyone present, even the townspeople look at the man in awe, taking note of the powerful aura and the light blue glow in his eyes as he walked off. He didn't even bother waiting for the master to say anything more, and Natsu was much the same as he too followed unquestioningly.

All he needed to know was that they were going off to get some classic revenge, and if other people wanted to follow, then that was fine too. A few seconds later, that's just what happened as Makarov, Erza, and Gray also began to walk away, clearly desiring the path of war.

"Ichigo…" Mira called out.

The orange-haired teen stopped dead in his tracks, after which he looked back at the barmaid with a stern look still evident on his features. Upon seeing those eyes again, however, that's when she knew. Those eyes held power in them, and they serviced to tell her that no matter what was sent his way, he would win.

"Kick their asses, Ichigo." Mira practically demanded, eliciting a nod of understanding from the substitute before the group continued to walk off.

_**Oak Town: Phantom's Lord's Branch, Some Time Later**_

"Hehehe, those Fairy Tail losers got what they deserved, eh boys?" One of Phantom's members cheered, raising his glass as he did so.

"I heard Gajeel took down three of them no problem, what a bunch of weaklings!" Another exclaimed.

Currently, within the massive structure that towered over all others in the city, the members of Phantom Lord sat in place, drinking and cheering over the news of recent events. It was perfectly obvious that none of them really had any love for Fairy Tail if the general mood was anything to go by, and in fact some of them didn't believe the damage that was done was sufficient enough.

"Heh, we can't let Gajeel have all the fun. About time we went and clipped some fairy wings ourselves." A man sneered as he and two others readied to exit the large castle-like structure.

Just as three were about to open the door and head out to cause some sort of havoc, the door seemed to burst forward in an eruption of fire. A large cloud of smoke shot into the air, and the bodies of the Phantom Lord members flew across the room, now being charred and scorched as a result of what appeared to be some kind of attack.

Each and every single wizard present within the building turned and looked to see a large gathering of Fairy Tail members standing directly on their doorstep, looking incredibly angered and clearly possessing a hostile intent.

At the forefront of the group was none other than Fairy Tail's Salamander, Erza Scarlet, Gray Fullbuster, the guild's master himself, and an orange-haired man with a scowl and glare that seemed to give off an extremely hostile intent to everyone who stood in his way.

"Fairy Tail has come calling!" Makarov exclaimed.

"Get 'em boys!" One of the Phantom members shouted.

It took not time at all before four individuals specifically jumped directly into the large incoming wave of enemy wizards. Natsu jumped towards the left with his fists lit up with fire and an angry look in his eyes. Gray took the right, using his magic to dispose of anyone stupid enough to come near him. The center though, that had been the most directly obvious advance.

Two individuals, one known to be Fairy Tail's Titania and the other unknown, started to burst through everyone they saw nearby with nothing more than simple swords. Moreover, the rage the two currently felt was translated perfectly well by the oh so convenient illustration of countless Phantom Lord members flying across the room.

"Take them down, they can't beat us if we take them on at once!" A man shouted, rallying a large amount of nearby wizards with his call for a full frontal attack.

"Requip!" Erza exclaimed.

Within an instant her body was engulfed in light before she donned her Flame Empress Armor and charged into a nearby wave of enemies, fire coating her sword all the while. She relentlessly lit up her opponents without a moment's hesitation, leaving only the remainder of the Phantom Members that were currently attacking her companion.

For the briefest of moments, each of the attackers appeared pleased that they had managed to separate the two from one another given how easily the duo had taken care of at least two dozen of their guild's members in an instant. However, they quickly realized that joy was the furthest thing that they should have been feeling in the face of this particular opponent.

"You'll need to come at me with more than this!" Ichigo shouted angrily, after which he openly leaped into a section of incoming enemies.

With his sword drawn, he challenged anyone who dared to continue with the attack. Whenever one of the wizards would try to stab him, their weapon would shatter just upon coming into contact with his zanpakuto, after which they would be punched, kicked, or simply batted away as if they were nothing but a nuisance.

Within a few short moments, the attacking Phantom members were dealt with, but he didn't stop there. Without any further delay, he leaped towards a group of wizards that were attacking at range and putting pressure on his comrades and quickly took them down, after which he looked towards the nearest gathering of opponents and did the same.

His style of fighting at the moment was one word, relentless. Everyone present could see an aura coming off of him as he continued to punch and slash his way through every enemy he could get his hands on. No matter what they tried to do, they couldn't fight, they couldn't run, and they couldn't hide.

"W-Who is this guy?!" One of the wizard exclaimed fearfully.

"I'm the person who wants to know who attacked our guild, and one of you is gonna tell me or I'll rip through everyone here to get an answer!" Ichigo shouted.

Those nearby only looked at him fearfully and said not a word. Even if they were eventually planning on telling him to spare themselves the pain of getting taken down, they were too slow to respond for his tastes. Thus, with one fell swoop and a couple uses of flash step, he took down those nearby before he charged across the enemy guildhall in an attempt to find answers and take down whoever else he could.

'_Glad to see your combat skills are as sharp as ever._' Erza thought, smiling very briefly as she saw the orange-haired teen continuously tear through the building and any Phantom Lord member he could find.

"You are all a waste of my time! Tell me where I can find Gajeel and the element four!" Erza exclaimed, her sword burning with fire all the while.

Much like with the substitute, the wizards didn't answer despite the fact that they likely knew what would happen to them. They were a brave bunch, however, and opted to stupidly charge her in an attempt to take her out. Needless to say, the second they were close enough they were dispatched in an instant with their burning bodies sent flying across the building.

They, however, weren't the only ones that were currently doing a massive amount of damage to Phantom Lord. Across the building, Natsu, Gray, Elfman, Azlak, Bisca, Loke, and all the others put all their efforts into defeating whoever tried to stand against them. This wasn't a simple mission they were asked to do, at this point it was personal.

From atop the rafters of the building, a man watched the display with a sinister smirk etched across his face. At the sound of his name being called, he almost wanted to jump down and get in on the fight, but that wasn't what he was asked to do. He needed to wait for the one person he thought could beat him to take his leave, and that was just about to happen.

"Erza, Ichigo, I will leave the rabble to you. Take care of them in the name of Fairy Tail!" Makarov ordered as he made his way up the stairs, carelessly batting away anyone who was stupid enough to stand in his way.

"You got it, old man!" Ichigo shouted back, never ceasing his assault even as he spoke.

"Understood, Master Makarov!" Erza replied, choosing not to stop her aggression just as the orange-haired teen that had also been addressed.

A few seconds later, the two found themselves back to back with one another, their swords pointed at two opposite waves of enemy wizards all the while.

"Think he'll be okay?" Ichigo asked, momentarily ignoring the upcoming skirmish.

"Yes… I have faith that the master will be victorious. Even so, we must hold up on our end." Erza replied.

"Yeah, but with me here that ain't gonna happen!" A man's voice exclaimed from above.

Everyone in the guildhall stopped combating the enemy guild, whichever it was from their respective points of view, and looked up to see the owner of said voice jump down onto the floor of the building, chuckling as he did so.

"It's him!" Someone from Phantom exclaimed, sounding somewhat afraid for some reason or another.

The man who had just arrived was an individual with long, spikey black hair that happened to be slicked back and had a pair of red eyes. He didn't appear to have any eyebrows, rather they seemed to be replaced by small round studs. Across his body, actually, the simple studs made themselves evident, appearing on his ears, nose, eyebrows, and just below his chin.

His attire consisted of a shabby, black sleeveless tunic with studded edges, a piece of cloth wrapping around his waist as if acting in place of a belt, and a pair of loose beige-colored pants that were tucked inside a pair of studded black boots. He also wore a pair of brown cloves with metal attacked on the back of the area that covered his hands as well as two metal wristbands immediately prior to the cloves themselves. The last remaining part of his appearance was a wing-like ornament that covered his upper right shoulder that was dark green in color.

"It has to be him… the Iron Dragon Slayer, Black Steel Gajeel." Erza muttered at the sight of the man's form.

"You're the one who did that to Levy and the others!" A Fairy Tail member shouted angrily.

Said wizard almost immediately leaped towards the black-haired man in an attempt to exact revenge, but all the dragon slayer did in response was to smirk and wait until just the right moment.

When he was within striking distance, a large iron pole replaced his arm and shot forward, effectively launching his attacker far across the guildhall and taking out some of the other Phantom Members in the process.

"He took out his own guild mates with that attack?!" Gray exclaimed confusedly. It wouldn't surprise him if this was a dark guild, but for a legal guild to have someone who was so easily able to fight his own comrades was very disturbing.

"Heh, so which of you Fairy Tail losers is next?" Gajeel sneered.

"Hey, guy with the weird metal jewelry on his face, I got somethin' to ask you." Ichigo stated, walking to the forefront of the group.

At this, the Iron Dragon Slayer growled, obviously not appreciating the insult. The rest of his guild mates, upon seeing their most powerful member's anger rise, paled and began to very carefully step out of his way.

"What'd you just say to me?" Gajeel questioned, looking directly at the orange-haired teen as he did so.

"You're the Iron Dragon Slayer, right? So that means it was you who hurt Levy and the others, that it was you who destroyed the Fairy Tail's guildhall?" Ichigo inquired, prompting the man to chuckle evily as if he relished the memories of doing so.

"Yeah, I did, what of it ya Fairy Tail weakli…" Gajeel began.

The red-eyed dragon slayer didn't even have a chance to finish his sentence before a powerful punch sent him flying across the guildhall. He smashed into a wooden pillar like a piece of construction equipment, after which he picked himself up and smirked heavily at the man who had just challenged him.

"You see that's a bit unfortunate because it means that you're the one who's managed to piss me off this much." Ichigo stated.

"Pretty big talk… but I gotta say I was watchin' how you took out quite of few of our guild's members. I was surprised… but if ya think I'm as big a pushover as those weaklings, then you've got another thing coming." Gajeel replied before lunging at his opponent.

_**Upstairs: With Makarov and Jose**_

Currently, a very much so enraged Makarov Drayer stormed towards the body of his colleague with his magical energy raging so powerfully that the floor beneath his feet was currently cracking under the pressure. However, the man who sat on the practical throne directly in front of him didn't so much as move a muscle in the wake of the large torrent of yellow magical energy.

The man who currently sat before the elderly wizard was wicked in appearance. He was a tall, slim man with straight, black hair that reached down to his shoulders. He had green eyes, a sharp face, dark-colored lips, and a thin moustache on his face.

He wore high-collared purple coat with pink trimmings and a jagged mantle, beneath which was a plain-looking shirt with his Wizard Saint's medallion showing around his neck with two light ribbons falling down from it. The most outstanding characteristic of his outfit, however, happened to be the pair of bat-like wings that seemed to be a part of his overcoat.

"Come and face me Jose!" Makarov roared angrily as he stared down the smirking image of the man that had aggravated him so heavily.

"My, my, look who's come to my doorstep on such short notice." Jose thought aloud, completely ignoring the demands of the short man before him.

"Tell me why your attacking Fairy Tail Jose!" Makarov shouted, his magic energy still flaring all the while.

"It's been a while Makarov… six years ago at a guild master's conference. I remember that day, I was a complete ass. I can't hold my liquor as well as the rest of you…" Jose stated.

In a fit of rage, the leader of the Fairy Tail guild sent forth an enlarged fist directly towards the sitting form of a man he currently considered to be his enemy. Dust roared upwards from the point of impact, but the elderly wizard knew that such a small attack wouldn't be the end of this fight.

"I didn't come here to make small talk, I want answers…" Makarov began.

He, however, stopped upon seeing the image of Phantom's guild master flicker and give off a small amount of static. Evidently, it had been nothing more of a projection, a parlor trick that he truly should have seen coming.

"A projection… you coward. I should've known you'd flee with your tail between your legs." Makarov stated matter-of-factly.

"Please… I simply wished to avoid a fight between two of the Ten Wizard Saint's. I always have preferred a sensible victory without all the commotion." Jose replied, a cocky smirk present on his lips.

"Why are you hiding… come and face me like a man!" Makarov shouted.

As opposed to initially giving a verbal reason, the currently smirking man decided to let a picture paint a thousand words, so to speak. The tied up form of Lucy appeared via holographic projection directly before the elderly wizard's eyes, which caused his rage to shoot up even farther than it already had.

"Lucy… but why?" Makarov uttered confusedly.

"Why you ask? Well, I am quite surprised that she's in your guild and you still don't know… well, it seems that Ms. Lucy Heartfilia hasn't told you the truth just yet." Jose mused.

A second later he gestured his hand towards the blonde, after which a magical seal reminiscent of an attack spell appeared. In just a moment, if it happened to fire, the celestial mage would have been disintegrated.

"No, don't!" Makarov shouted, reaching hopelessly towards the holographic projection.

That, however, would prove to be his downfall, as the moment he did so a large man clad in great robes with an orange undershirt and a piece of cloth covering his eyes appeared out of nowhere.

'_What?! I didn't even sense his presence, so how was I…_' Makarov thought, an instant after which he lost the capability of even moving.

_**Ground Floor: With Ichigo and the Others**_

"Ya know, if you bothered to stop caring about everyone else here, then maybe you'd be able to beat me." Gajeel stated from his position across the orange-haired teen.

"Why don't you shut your mouth?" Ichigo barked.

"Heh, testy, testy… all I did was point out the obvious." Gajeel replied.

"Well you can keep crap like that to yourself since I don't care." Ichigo stated.

"Oh well, let's continue!" Gajeel exclaimed, launching a large iron pole directly at a currently fighting group of Fairy Tail wizards.

Ichigo, much as he did before, blocked the attack and allowed no harm to come to his guild mates. Still, while he was doing this, Gajeel was already moving onto terrorizing a different group.

This wouldn't usually be a problem, but currently the massive number of Phantom Lord's wizards in the building made it so that most everyone else was tied up dealing with the grunts. As a result, Ichigo was the only one capable of freely fighting against the Iron Dragon Slayer, which meant that he had no ability to prevent him from randomly attacking. Had this been a one on one fight in the sense that no one else was around, it would have been over in an instant, but as it stood his opponent was quite literally stalling.

The entirety of their fight, thus far, had simply consisted of the red-eyed dragon slayer aiming for his opponent's comrades, which would force a defensive reaction from Ichigo given that he didn't want others to be hurt at the expense of taking out his opponent. Once this was done, Gajeel would just repeat, and it simply went on and on.

'_He isn't attacking me… and he's never had the intent to. That can only mean he's stalling… but why the hell would he do that after all his talk?_' Ichigo wondered.

Yet another of the Iron Dragon Slayer's attacks were deflected, effectively preventing Elfman from taking a large iron pole to the kidney and allowing the practical pattern to reset. For the time being, however, the red-eyed man had stopped his constant onslaught in favor of some small conversation.

"Damn, you're ridiculously fast… what's your name?" Gajeel questioned, smirking at the prospect of someone he would otherwise be having a large amount of fun with.

"Ichigo Kurosaki… now answer one of my questions. Why are you stalling? Is it because you know if you don't I'll lop off one of your arms in an instant?" Ichigo asked, glaring daggers at his opponent.

"Well… from what I smell in the air right now, you're about to find out." Gajeel replied, his smirk growing in size despite how impossible that seemed.

From the highest point of the building, a body fell like a ton of bricks. It hit the ground shortly thereafter, bringing everyone's attention to it. When the smoke had cleared around the point of impact, there wasn't a single person fighting, and a majority of Fairy Tail's strongest members went over to aid the man who looked substantially strained, if not close to death's door.

Makarov lay on his back within a small hole his landing had created, his skin green and his magical energy fading with each passing second. It he didn't look as if he was violently ill, then the only other alternative would have been that someone had hit him with a truckload of sickly-green makeup.

"I'm so sad! Why do I suddenly feel so melancholy?! Perhaps it is because that on this day the world has lost a great wizard!" A man sobbed loudly from the rafters, though he was ignored by most everyone given that the priority for the Fairy Tail mages was to tend to their wounded leader.

'_He… lost… but how is that possible? I didn't feel a single thing coming from upstairs, which meant that it had to have been a sneak attack…_' Ichigo thought, momentarily being paralyzed by what had just happened. He could feel his anger rise even more, so much so that he pupils quite literally shook with rage.

Currently, a man that he owed a great deal to was nearby him, dying, and all he could do was stand in place with his sword gripped tightly in his hands. However, the second that he had his senses back, that's when he noticed it, or rather a lack of something. His body wasn't paralyzed out of shock, he truly couldn't move it. At this moment in time, his limbs wouldn't respond to his commands.

'_What the hell is going on?!_' Ichigo thought worriedly.

"Master Makarov!" Erza exclaimed as she ran towards the seemingly defeated wizard.

"I don't understand… I don't sense any magic energy coming from him at all!" Gray exclaimed fearfully.

"No way, you mean he's just an ordinary old man now?" Elfman asked, sounding highly concerned.

"That can't be right!" Natsu shouted defiantly, as if he simply wouldn't consider that to be an option.

"Still, I don't get it… gramps is so powerful, so how'd they beat him?" Gray wondered aloud.

"Children…" Makarov's voice called out weakly, capturing the attention of everyone nearby.

"Gramps, what is it?!" Natsu asked urgently, fighting the urge to violently shake his master in order to wake him up. He knew that wouldn't work, but he couldn't think of anything else.

"Save… Lucy… captured by… Jose…" Makarov mumbled, after which he seemed to black out.

The Fairy Tail wizards released a collective gasp, after which they were broken out of it by the chuckling that came courtesy of Phantom's dragon slayer. He had yet to make another move, but very clearly he enjoyed watching his guild's enemies quake in fear over what had just happened.

"Oh, so Master Jose told him what we did with the blonde. Too bad he can't do a damn thing right now." Gajeel sneered.

"Yes, but it makes me so sad that he had to be dealt with in such a way!" The large green-cloaked man wailed.

"Well you're just as creepy as ever… still, I gotta commend you on taking down the Fairy Tail geezer, Aria." Gajeel stated.

"I only did what Master Jose ordered." Aria replied, sounding as if he truly didn't take any joy in what he had just done.

"Whatever… now there's just one little fly I've gotta deal with and then we're done here." Gajeel said.

An instant later he directed his sights towards the still immobile form of Ichigo, who just stood in place with a blank look in his eyes as if he was unable to do anything but remain standing. At this, most everyone else in Fairy Tail looked at him worriedly, clearly knowing what was about to happen and yet still being incapable of doing anything about it.

'_But he is more than fast enough to dodge anything that guy can fire at him!_' Natsu thought, sweating slightly as he stared with concern at his currently endangered friend.

"Iron Dragon's Roar!" Gajeel exclaimed.

From the mouth of the dragon slayer a massive blast of tiny metal shards that roared within the confines of a tornado-like attack. The large wave of magical energy approached its target within seconds, appearing as if it would end up in a dead hit.

"Snap out of it Ichigo!" Erza shouted.

The scarlet-haired woman's cries fell on deaf ears as the attack landed a direct hit. Large amounts of smoke and dust shot out of the attack's collision point, at which time the Fairy Tail wizards could do nothing but stare worriedly at the opaque cloud with the hopes that their comrade was at least only mildly injured. After an attack like that, they didn't believe even he was capable of being unharmed.

"Nobody can take a hit from Gajeel's dragon roar and make it out alive!" One of Phantom's members cheered.

"Tch, I thought he'd put up a bit more of a fight than that." Gajeel scoffed, turning his back to the cloud of smoke as he did so.

Just as the dragon slayer was about to turn heel and leave the guildhall, however, his comrade and one of Phantom's esteemed Element Four called out in an attempt to gain his attention, if only for a moment.

"Gajeel…" Aria called out, his tone slightly shaken.

"What the hell do you…" Gajeel began, only to stop his speech the second after turning around and seeing the still standing form of his opponent within the lessening cloud of dust.

"There's no way…" A man trailed off, several repeating these very words as the smoke continued to dissipate.

The Fairy Tail wizards had surprised looks or small smiles on their face upon seeing that their latest member was evidently more powerful than they had originally believed him to be. To be able to withstand something with that much magical energy without even having to move an inch was impressive to say the least.

Any sense of relief, however, evaporated the second that his actual appearance became evident once more. The prevailing emotions at this point, by most everyone in the guild, were nothing more than a sheer sense of fear and shock.

"What the hell…" Gajeel trailed off, gazing at his opponent's new appearance with a confused expression.

The formerly human appearance of the orange-haired teen was currently warped from its usual state. For one, a hole made itself evident at the center of his chest, out of which a white substance exuded outwardly and extended in all directions. Normally that would have drawn more attention given that nobody walked around with a hole located in such an area, but the fact remained that his face was infinitely more terrifying and glaring.

A mask with red markings covered the entire left side of the substitute's face, which gave off a seemingly demonic and sinister appearance as opposed to the traditional warrior-like feel his usual looks gave off. However, the most terrifying feature of all was his eyes. The brown orbs were replaced by golden ones while his sclera became pitch black. On top of that, he was smiling in an evil and sadistic manner, gazing predatorily at the wizards directly in front of him.

"I-Ichigo…" Erza uttered in a tone of disbelief. This definitely wasn't something she had seen or been told about before, but most everyone else was just as lost as she was.

"Now just what the hell is this supposed to be?" Gajeel questioned, appearing as if he were demanding to know the answer.

"**Hehehehehe…**" Ichigo laughed in a warped voice, only adding to the fear that most currently felt and reinforcing the shock and confusion of his comrades.

"Did you hear me? I asked what the hell you just did?!" Gajeel roared angrily.

Much to his and everyone else's surprise, the masked man's body vanished into what was seemingly thin air, after which he reappeared directly in front of the Iron Dragon Slayer and firmly gripped his face within the palm of his own hand.

An instant later, he launched the man directly across the guildhall, releasing a quiet laughing sound all the while. With that done, he stared at the recently thrown form of the black-haired man, staring uncaringly and expecting the fight to continue.

"Don't stand around here boys! This guy's just one man, let's help Gajeel out and finish this for Phantom!" A man shouted, charging the masked form of the orange-haired teen without a sense of fear or worry about what could possibly happen.

Several of the others registered what was said, and as a result they shook off their sense of fear at the warped appearance their opponent currently sported. Still, that sense of newfound courage dissipated as quickly as it formed due to what happened next.

The Phantom Lord wizard that had so bravely charged the practical demon with his sword in hand quickly found himself incapacitated. Without giving it a second thought, Ichigo's hollowfied form brought Zangetsu forth and slashed the man across his body from hip to shoulder, shattering his weapon in the process.

With a large amount of blood pouring forth from his wounds, the seemingly brave, but stupid, wizard just gasped before he hit the floor. When this occurred, the black and gold eyes of the creature turned to look at the surrounding group of enemies who had considered moving in, however they were seemingly paralyzed once more in the wake of what they had just witnessed.

"**Hahahaha…**" The creature laughed out, after which it charged directly at everything that surrounded it.

Within moments at least two dozen of the Phantom Lord guild members were on the ground laying in a pool of their own blood. No mercy was given to those who stood in this being's way. In fact the injured men were lucky to even be alive given the current circumstances.

"What the hell is going on?" Gray wondered aloud, knowing full well that this wasn't like the Ichigo they knew at all.

'_That thing… it resembles a demon, but the hole in the center of its chest… could it be a… a hollow?_' Erza wondered confusedly.

Despite the fact that this thought lingered on in her mind, she refused to accept that as the reality of the situation. She knew that a hollow was a monster, something that consumed the souls of whatever it could get its hands on, and Ichigo was the furthest thing from something like that.

"Tch, I see you finally got the guts to really rip into anyone in your way… I gotta say I'm a bit surprised, Kurosaki." Gajeel thought aloud as he stared down the white-masked creature.

It didn't respond to his words, not directly at least, as all it opted to do was stare at the raven-haired man with a manic expression and demonic eyes. A series of raspy breaths echoed in the air, but that was the only movement or action that it chose to take.

"Not gonna talk, huh? Well then… take this!" Gajeel exclaimed.

The red-eyed dragon slayer extended his right hand in the form of a large metal club that shot towards the masked being without delay. As opposed to previous instances, however, the creature didn't choose to move and counterattack, the result of which was the large metal club piercing directly through his shoulder and leaving a rather somewhat sizeable hole as it retracted and once again morphed back into Gajeel's hand.

"Ichigo!" Many exclaimed worriedly, though that was to be expected upon seeing their comrade with a large hole in his upper right shoulder.

"Ain't so tough now, are ya?" Gajeel taunted, smirking at the damage he had done.

"**Graaa….**" The creature hissed out, after which a white substance, different from the materials of its mask, began to cover the wound.

Everyone present watched with absolutely shocked and confused expressions as the wound, a literal hole in the man's arm, healed completely before their very eyes. The only thing that was currently missing happened to be the clothing, but no one particularly cared about that given what had just occurred.

"What the hell?!" Gajeel exclaimed.

"The wound healed?" Gray wondered aloud, his eyes wide as he continuously stared at the area that had just reformed on Ichigo's body. For a moment he thought he might have been going insane.

'_What kind of healing power is that? Nothing I've ever encountered has even come close to something like that…_' Erza thought, now being captivated by the fight in its entirety.

"Let's get him while he's standing still, men!" One of the Phantom wizard's shouted.

A group of about a dozen wizards or so then surrounded the orange-haired demonic beast and extended their hands in an effort to fire a series of concentrated attacks with the high hopes of finishing him off.

Within the next moment, each of the gathered mages let loose a powerful burst of magical energy, subsequently after which the collection of attacks shot towards their opponent without delay. When the attacks made contact, a large amount of smoke shot out from the point of impact, and it seemed that they had been successful.

"Who the hell said you moron's could interrupt my fight?!" Gajeel roared angrily, grabbing one of the wizard's by the collar and glaring heavily into his eyes.

"B-But we got him." The man stuttered fearfully. One monster was enough to deal with, he didn't need a second.

Before the Iron Dragon Slayer could even make a reply, something that only added to everyone's shock and confusion occurred. A large, gray, snake-like creature with massive teeth erupted from the pile of spoke and began to charge around the battlefield in a clear attempt of whipping out each and every one of its enemies.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Someone exclaimed.

"Outta my way!" Gajeel ordered, after which he jumped directly in front of the monster's path.

He caught the beast by its teeth though his body was still easily being pushed back simply due to the massive force the snake-like creature was using to move forth so relentlessly. Thinking on his feet, Gajeel let loose a powerful Iron Dragon's Roar directly into the creature's mouth, after which it erupted and seemed to just disappear from existence.

With that taken care of, the sound of a raspy growl once again caught his attention. His eyes widened out of shock given that he believed the snake was his opponent, but nevertheless he turned back to face his enemy once more.

When the dragon slayer's eyes finally looked to the source of the sound, all he could see was a smoke-covered figure that clearly happened to be his opponent. The second the smoke cleared, however, the form of the orange-haired teen had once again altered.

The white substance that had initially sprouted forth from his chest now covered a majority of the right side of his upper body, now being present on his shoulder and arm as well as his lower left abdomen. The mask as well had expanded slightly, and the now white-coated arm now sported claws as opposed to human fingers.

"What the hell are you exactly? Ya some kind of demon?" Gajeel questioned, honestly wanting to know the answer.

"**Graaa…**" The demonic-looking being replied in a raspy tone.

"I'm gettin' really pissed with this whole you not answering me thing!" Gajeel roared angrily.

For a brief few seconds, the white-masked creature did nothing in response. However, after those short, precious seconds, nearly everyone in the guild became paralyzed by an enormous jolt of dark energy.

Large amounts of black spiritual energy laced with red began to swarm around the practical demon, acting like a powerful storm that seemed as if it would never let up. Massive and rapidly flowing winds crushed against the interior of the guildhall, and the energy itself expanded outwardly and began to twirl in the air relentlessly.

"What is this energy… it's so… dark…" Erza uttered in a shocked voice.

She, along with the others, were completely paralyzed due to the deadly energy that currently sparked to life right before their very eyes. Even if they wanted to run, they couldn't, and so they were forced to watch as the white-masked creature began to shriek, the vortex of black energy swirling around his form all the while.

The spiritual energy coalesced around the demonic hollow-like creature and began to twirl more rapidly than it had at any point prior. A moment later the large vortex of gathered power burst forth in a show of sheer force, dissipating rather quickly shortly thereafter.

However, despite the fact that the energy had vanished from view and the fact that it no longer had the chance to bring harm to those near it, an entirely new problem emerged in the form of an even greater threat that presented itself in the wake of the storm of raw energy.

Ichigo now stood with his apparent evolution coming to a close. His orange hair was now significantly longer and wild in nature, extending to his lower back and sprouting forth from the back of his head. The mask now fully covered his face, effectively giving him an even more demonic look, only now one of the eyes was covered by the visage itself in the form of a faux-golden eye. In addition, the white substance now covered each and every part of his body. A tail now exuded from the lower portion of his back, and his general physique became more muscular than prior.

His clothes were torn completely from his upper body while the only remnants on his lower half were tattered remnants that left parts of his pitch-white legs exposed. Both of his hands were now clawed, as were his feet, and tuffs of fur made themselves evident on his wrists and ankles. A series of dark red tribal markings were now scattered throughout his body, and within his right hand the large cleaver-like sword was still firmly gripped.

'_That mask… the hole in his chest, and that dark energy… he can't have turned into a hollow, could he?_' Erza wondered fearfully.

"**Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!**" The creature roared, instantly causing the redheaded wizard's body to tense up out of fear.

That roar sent a chill through the bones of whoever happened to hear it, be they a lowly grunt or a hardened veteran. The air itself seemed to become thicker as this occurred, the result of which was for most wizards nearby to shy away in favor of not angering something capable of such power just as a result of a simple roar.

Despite the fact that everyone was stricken with a sense of fear, none were more affected by this than Erza herself. She had heard the battle cry of a hollow firsthand during the questioning administered to Ichigo by the Magic Council, and the sound of it was something that she wouldn't ever forget until her dying day. That, however, wasn't what struck her with a sense of fear, it was the fact that the roar of her formerly human-looking friend was identical to a hollow in every way she was capable of imagining.

"You think I'm gonna cower away just cuz' you look like that?! Bring it on!" Gajeel shouted, extending his hand and forming a large metal sword with the clear intent to fight his opponent head on.

The white-skinned creature immediately ran towards its challenger without delay, bringing Zangetsu to bear in an effort to deal with the dragon slayer quickly and without mercy.

Within moments, the two swords began to clash, though it was very clear who held the upper hand. The practical monster relentlessly ran forward, slashing from side to side in a clear quest to draw blood.

To his credit, Gajeel didn't allow his pride to get in the way as he correctly opted to back away and parry each of the consecutive strikes. That, however, proved to be equally as futile an attempt at victory the second after the two engaged, mainly for the only reason that no matter how one looked at the skirmish, the orange-haired demonic-looking creature was far quicker with its blade.

Seeing himself being backed into a corner, the raven-haired dragon slayer opted to hold his ground following the next occasion he blocked his opponents sword. Still, in the end it only served to seal his fate as the beast then opted to slam its head directly into Gajeel's chest with the enough force to crack open a brick wall.

"Gah!" Gajeel uttered, almost forced to do so upon his chest being hit with that much raw strength behind the blow.

He flew backwards in the air, shooting into a nearby wall and creating a sizeable hole in it despite the fact that it was made of stone bricks. His body injured and in dire need of a few moments in order to recover, the dragon slayer could do nothing but fall to his hands and knees, a pained expression present on his face all the while. Just speaking at this point seemed as if it would be a difficult task.

"What the hell are you?" Gajeel grunted out, bringing his head up to look at his opponent.

In response, the creature just extended its free left hand and directed its open palm towards the red-eyed man. Within a second thereafter, a ball of pure crimson spiritual energy formed within said palm, spiraling to life and exuding a large amount of raw power.

It shined so brilliantly that the building itself seemed to reflect the color as it sparked to life, but all Gajeel could do was stand in place and stare down the attack he knew would be coming his way in just moments.

Predictably, the attack fired off, after which a colossal wave of crimson consumed almost everything in front of the creature that had launched it. The cero tore through the ground of the building, through any tables in its way, and even the support beams that happened to be caught in the crossfire within seconds, subsequently after which the dragon slayers body was eclipsed by the wave of energy.

A massive explosion sounded off, causing smoke and light bits of fire to coat the currently demolished wall, though the body of the man who was hit by it wasn't currently anywhere near the point of impact. It wasn't likely that he was incinerated, but still it did mean that this fight was over.

"I-It… it beat Gajeel…" One of the Phantom Lord guild members uttered out of disbelief.

"**Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!**" The hollow-like beast roared victoriously.

With its current objective seemingly accomplished, the golden-eyed creature turned to face the group of Fairy Tail wizards, its expression unreadable and its posture the exact same as it had been since its arrival.

"I-Ichigo…" Gray called out in an unsure tone, eliciting no reaction from the white-skinned demonic being.

For the time being, their still-perceived comrade didn't take any actions of aggression such as slashing at them or moving forward in an attempt to make a direct attack, but all the same it didn't exactly speak out to quell their worries.

"Hey Ichigo… that was awesome!" Natsu exclaimed cheerfully.

Most everyone looked at the pink-haired teen with a sense of clear concern showing on their faces. That sense of worry only increased upon seeing the Fairy Tail wizard walk up towards the creature with a large grin on his face and possessing no clear ability to defend himself in the case of an attack due to his own actions.

"Natsu, what are you doing?" Cana asked warily, obviously not being entirely sure of what was currently going on.

"What're you acting so afraid for? It's Ichigo, remember?" Natsu said, sounding as if he knew for a fact there was no reason to be concerned.

The dragon slayer turned to face who he viewed as the Substitute Soul Reaper he had met just a short time ago, now being within arm's length of him with no apparent desire on the creature's part to engage in a fight. This serviced to reinforce his belief that this was just one of Ichigo's abilities, but many still remained skeptic.

"You really tore through those guys, eh? Plus you look so cool! The eyes are a little weird though…" Natsu continued with a smile still etched on his face.

'_Is it possible that… perhaps… this truly is Ichigo?_' Erza wondered, though she still kept a close watch on the beast's body movements in case it was to randomly attack the unsuspecting dragon slayer.

A moment later the redheaded knight distinctly saw the creature tighten its grip on the large sword that had been typically wielded by Ichigo thus far. Upon this occurring, she frantically made a move to prevent her friend from coming to any form of harm.

"Natsu, get back!" Erza exclaimed.

It was too late for the pink-haired teen to retreat as the white-skinned demonic being brought its blade across the dragon slayer's body in an attempt to cut him in two. Erza, however, wasn't one to allow this to happen and thus she rushed towards the beast and blocked the attack with her own magical sword, albeit barely.

"Natsu… get… back… now!" Erza ordered, struggling to hold back the zanpakuto of the hollow that appeared to be in control of Ichigo's body.

Natsu was in a state of mild shock and as a result it took him a moment to react, but nevertheless this also had the effect of causing him to obediently listen to the commands of requip user that had essentially just saved his life.

Once Natsu had leaped back to safety, all eyes fell on the form of Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard as she continued to struggle to hold back the sword of the orange-haired creature.

"**Tya!**" The hollow grunted out, swiping its blade and ending the stalemate with one powerful motion.

Erza's magical sword broke into two separate pieces and she was forced to create a large distance between herself and her opponent as a result. Sweat began to drip from her brow as she stared down the still menacing creature that was clearly not the man she had grown to respect such a great deal.

'_However… I have to keep in mind that this thing is still somehow Ichigo… I don't know why this is happening, but I can't just make an attempt at killing it._' Erza thought, being disgusted by even the mental consideration of doing such a thing.

She believed her best bet at the moment was to make an attempt to buy time. With how this hollow-like beast was acting, retreat wasn't an option, and even if it was that didn't solve the immediate problem which was the fact that a rampaging demon would be let loose if she chose to just ignore it.

"I suppose I'm not left with many other options… requip!" Erza exclaimed.

The scarlet-haired woman's body was engulfed by a bright light, shortly after which her appearance altered and a new set of armor made its appearance, this time being black with silver trimmings, though that was far from what made it distinctive.

Around her neck was a neck guard decorated with scarlet-colored gems, and her hair was now tied in a ponytail with only two bangs framing her face. She now sported a pair of large shoulder pads composed of two sequential silver-edged plates that flanked a metal high-rise collar which possessed a shape reminiscent of a dress.

Erza's chest was now covered by a silver-edged breastplate that revealed a fair amount of cleavage and left her stomach exposed while her sides were covered by two separate plates than ran down her body and connected to the her waist guard. Said piece of amour was fairy long but left the front of her body exposed, though the back was covered by a series of long silver-edged feather-like pieces of armor. Her hands were now covered by two slim gauntlets, and her legs were completely covered save for an area on her upper thigh on each respective leg.

The set of armor was complete with a pair of wings that appeared to allow her the ability to fly should she choose to do so and a purple and silver sword with intricate patterns and a golden guard that she gripped tightly in both of her hands.

'_My Black Wing Armor should allow me to keep up with his offensive capabilities and also allow me the ability to evade his attacks. Still, with how easily it defeated Black Steel Gajeel, I can't let my guard down._' Erza thought.

"Is she… is she gonna fight him?" Elfman wondered aloud.

He and the others were in a state of confusion and fear, neither of the two being particularly dominant but both being the only things that anyone really felt. The reason was simple, and that was the fact that they didn't quite know how to react and the accompanying fact that they couldn't just do nothing. At the same time, against something that was apparently so powerful, it was very difficult to judge whether or not to fight it all out or hold back in case the comrade they all knew and had befriended was still in there.

"Ichigo… if you can hear me, get ahold of yourself! Whatever this is, I know you're not gone. Explanations can come later, but right now I need you to push this thing back!" Erza shouted in an attempt to send a plea towards the orange-haired teen she knew for a fact was still somewhere inside the demonic creature she currently faced down.

Without warning, the white-skinned hollow charged its new adversary with its sword brought to bear and its full force put behind it. Once it neared, Erza was almost immediately forced to take flight in order to dodge, her eyes being greeted with the sight of her former position being absolutely decimated by the powerful sword strike.

However, she chose not to acknowledge the hole in the ground where she had previously stood, rather she opted to use her positioning to attack the beast head on in an attempt to see its capabilities firsthand.

She came down on the demonic creature like a hawk snatching its pray, her sword aiming for its upper right shoulder in an attempt to at least do some damage, if not then at the very least force a reaction.

Somewhat to her surprise, her sword was batted away rather quickly by the beast's free left hand, after which the zanpakuto of her opponent came slashing across her body in an attempt to mount a counterattack of some kind.

Despite the fact she hadn't expected it, that in no way meant she was not prepared. Thus the scarlet-haired woman flipped herself in the air in order to dodge the attack and simultaneously allow herself to land behind the monstrous beast and slash it across its back.

The redheaded wizard successfully accomplished this feat, after which she turned as quickly as she could and positioned her sword so that once she had come full circle the entire force of her swing would gain momentum and perhaps she could injure the hollow in order to slow him down.

However, what occurred next was not something she considered possible. The second that her eyes looked at what she thought to be the back of her opponent, she was greeted with the sight of the haunting golden eyes and stared directly into her own.

The creature blocked her attack handily, though it put no force past what was needed. This, at first, confused Erza a great degree, but a split second later she realized why it had chosen to do so.

The hollow brought it's fist upwardly into the redhead's uncovered stomach, which caused most everyone present to widen their eyes in shock. The punch was directed in such a way that the scarlet-haired wizard wasn't sent flying backwards, but at the same time a massive amount of force ran straight into her body uninhibited.

Erza felt blood flow out of her mouth as she fell to the ground, stopping her body from hitting the floors of the guildhall by using her hands and knees to essentially catch herself. Despite the fact that she wasn't currently face-down on the ground, it was very clear to most everyone present that she wasn't capable of defending herself.

'_How could I have been so careless?!_' Erza thought, even finding it necessary to chastise herself in the face of death.

When she had been hit in such a convincing manner, she had believed the fight to have been over. In fact, she was expecting to be cut in half by this point. To her surprise, and relief, the beast she had previously fought stood in place, staring down at her without any indication that it would land the finishing blow. That still didn't mean that it wouldn't eventually do so, but at the very least it was precious time for her to attempt a recovery.

'_Is it not going to finish me off?_' Erza wondered, lifting her head up and staring into the golden irises of the hollow just as she had before their fight had started.

For a brief moment, she regained the hope that perhaps something inside its mind was telling it not to finish her off. This wasn't the same confusion that she had seen when Natsu approached the creature. Rather, it was hesitation, pure and simple.

'_Ichigo… I know you're in there somewhere. Just please… please snap out of it!_' Erza thought.

Had she been able to do so, Erza would have shouted this at the top of her lungs. Sadly, however, she wasn't currently able to find her voice due to the severe pain that wracked her entire body. She could once again feel her limbs, but recovery was slow at this point.

Even so, she could still make an attempt to communicate with her eyes and facial expression. She poured whatever emotion she could into her eyes, staring into the very soul of the hollow directly in front of her. It wasn't a guarantee to do anything really, but at this point it was her only means of communication.

Her hope, however, vanished upon seeing the best extend its left hand once more, a gesture that made Erza's eyes widen out of both shock and fear. The palm of said hand opened, shortly after which the crimson energy of the attack that had defeated Gajeel spiraled to life.

All she could do was stare into the orb of energy, unable to feel anything at this point other than the fear of her life coming to an end. She wasn't a coward by any means, but whatever she was facing was like nothing she had ever fought before.

The energy it gave off was worse than demonic, and its strength and speed were truly terrifying for something as large as this creature was. Whatever it was, however, clearly wasn't Ichigo.

In truth Erza didn't quite know what was worse, the fact that Ichigo was about to kill her by extension of this thing, or the fact that she had allowed herself to get into such a deplorable state.

"Erza, get out of the way!" Gray exclaimed worriedly.

Those words fell on deaf ears as the scarlet-haired woman was paralyzed in the face of a large crimson cero about to fire off mere inches away from her body. All hope seemed to vanish, but then again that was the way a hollow fought, quickly and without mercy.

Abruptly, however, the illuminating glow of the energy sphere stopped emanating crimson light, directly before Erza's very eyes. An instant later, the creature began to roar in a random fashion, stumbling backwards as it did so.

'_What is it doing? Why did it stop its attack…_' Erza wondered.

The large white beast continued to roar in a pained voice, frantically moving about as if its body was in the middle of a tug of war, each side of which wanted desperately to come out on top.

'_Ichigo… was it… you?_' Erza wondered.

"**Raaaaaaaaaaa!**" The hollow wailed, all the while bringing its left hand up and gripping the mask that covered its face.

Cracks began to form on the upper right corner of the beast's visage, at which point a massive amount of energy once again flooded the entirety of the guildhall in a massive storm of spiritual energy.

This time, unlike previously, another distinctive type of pressure battled with the dark and deadly powerful demonic energy. Black laced with red and light blue, that which many had seen emanating off of Ichigo, began to swirl around the hollow as it continued to scream in what appeared to be a pained voice.

Within a few seconds, the mask was torn off, revealing the face of the Substitute Soul Reaper that everyone knew to have been underneath the form of a demonic creature.

When the mask shattered, so too did the essential shell that surrounded his body. The excess hair, mask, and tail all evaporated within an instant, after which Ichigo was revealed to be standing with his clothing extremely torn and a hole no longer present at the center of his chest.

"The beast is down men. Run for your lives, retreat!" A Phantom wizard shouted.

None of the opposing guild bothered to do anything at the moment, save for Natsu who had a very specific article of business to discuss with anyone he could get his hands on. Everyone else, however, just stared observationally at the seemingly normal form of their guild's latest member.

"I-Ichigo…" Erza trailed off worriedly.

The orange-haired teen didn't even give a response before his eyes closed and his body hit the ground of the large castle-like building. Seeing this, the scarlet-haired teen crawled up a few feet and began to examine his body, a fearful expression etched on her face given what had just happened.

Erza let loose a heavy sigh of relief upon feeling that Ichigo's heart was still beating within his chest and that his energy seemed to have stabilized. It was no longer dark and deadly in nature, but rather warm and protecting if ever she would describe it as something.

"Erza, is he okay?!" Gray exclaimed, running towards the body alongside many of the other Fairy Tail wizards nearby.

"He's fine… right now I think we need to retreat. Azlac, Bisca, take Master Makarov to see Porlyusica at once. I will take Ichigo back to the guildhall alongside the others and we will deal with Phantom later." Erza stated firmly, finding the strength to once again stand tall.

Her abdomen still hurt like all hell, as evident by the fact that she was currently clenching it, but she could bear with the pain. However it still remained that any counterattack would likely not occur given that the enemy guild's fighters were currently busy running like scarred children in the wake of whatever had just happened.

"Right. I'll help you take him back." Gray volunteered.

"Did I say I needed your assistance?" Erza growled out, her pride not allowing her to shy away in a time when action was necessary.

"Just shut up and take my help. With how hard you just got hit, I'd be surprised if you can make it out of the guild _without_ having to support his body." Gray stated, after which he picked the orange-haired teen up and thrust his arm over his own shoulders.

"Tch… since when do you have the guts to speak to me like that?" Erza scoffed, doing the same thing as the raven-haired mage though on the other of Ichigo's arms.

"I'll probably regret doing this later, but right now we need to get moving." Gray replied, eliciting a nod from the redheaded woman.

"Right." Erza said in agreement.

**A/N Okay, so once again the next chapter will be posted next Monday. Other than that, not much to say. **

_**Explanations**_:

**Ichigo's Hollow**: Now those of you who know me are fully aware that, of course, this is the prelude to a little talk between two people that will take place in Ichigo's inner world. Rest assured, that much is so close it's almost ridiculous.

_**Reviews**_:

**rc4817**:Can't answer, sorry xD

**Pokemaster94**: I assume Urahara.

**Gravenimage**: Yes, he can still use Bankai. No, he cannot currently use his mask. Also, of course he will use Bankai in the future. I have answered all of these before, I believe.

**cecebeec**: Can't answer that, mostly because the big battle with Phantom is just around the corner so you'll find out soon anyway ;P

**GirlFish**: Most likely, the only crossovers I will do will involve Fairy Tail and Bleach.

**BleachxFairyTail9121**: No, but he has taken a passive approach since he has neither the ability nor the resources to figure out how to get home in his current position.

**q**: Um, no, this will not happen. I think I've said before what my stance is on other Bleach characters being in this particular story.

**Do Fairies have tails**: I think I answered this over PM if I am not mistaken.


	22. The War Wages On

**A/N Okay, before this chapter begins, I will just say that this chapter does sort-of contain spoilers from the Bleach Manga, so if you aren't caught up, go ready what you haven't and then come back ;P. Just kidding, read this first just because I said so! Anyway, the next chapter will be posted next Monday because I ha exams and also because this chapter is quite long as well. **

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 22**

_**Magnolia: Remnants of Fairy Tail's Guildhall**_

The remaining members of Fiore's strongest guild sat in the main floor of the currently decimated guildhall. No repairs had been made, but even so they couldn't just stand still in the basement. If anyone was to return, they would be standing at the ready, prepared to tend to their wounds and give them a helping hand.

At the main bar, Mirajane currently sat, fighting the temptation to tank a drink herself given how much worry and stress she currently felt. It had been quite some time since a majority of their guild's wizards had stormed off to face Phantom, and still no word had come back.

'_Something must've happened if they aren't back by now… no, I can't think like that!_' Mira thought, however she found it very difficult to push such notions to the back of her mind.

No matter how much she told herself what she should and should not be taking into consideration, the sense of concern she currently felt was overwhelming. A positive mindset at this point would only occur if her comrades were to return, safe and sound.

The barmaid's inward conflict was cut short by the abrupt opening of the guild's wooden door, but perhaps 'opened' was a poor word to describe it given that the door had been slammed open in what sounded like an urgent manner.

This, naturally, caught Mira's attention as she and everyone else instantly turned with surprised expressions to look at who was entering the guildhall. When they saw the condition of those who were entering, however, a sense of pure worry scattered across everyone present.

"What happened?!" Mira exclaimed, a high sense of concern present in her voice as she ran over to help her fellow Fairy Tail members.

At the forefront of the group were Erza and Gray, each of whom was supporting Ichigo's body on a separate side. Said body was in a horrible condition, the black clothing being torn to practical shreds and his eyes being closed to illustrate that he was likely unconscious. He didn't appear to be wounded, and his chest was moving which showed he was still breathing, but seeing him in such a state shocked the white-haired woman a great degree, and made her sense of worry greater still.

Most everyone appeared to be slightly bruised as a result of the battle, and even Erza, the strongest female in the entire guild, was currently clenching her abdomen though her expression didn't appeared pained whatsoever.

"Mira, please help me get Ichigo over towards his body. Gray, you make sure everyone else is alright." Erza requested.

"Alright." Gray replied.

A moment later he relinquished his position to Mirajane, after which he complied with the job that was asked of him. The two women then carried Ichigo's soul form towards him human body, a concerned expression still etched on the barmaid as they did so.

"Erza, what's going on? Why isn't the master with you?" Mira asked as the two continued to head towards the body of the orange-haired teen.

"The master was hit with a very potent spell that drained him of his magical powers and nearly took his life. Azlak and Bisca were tasked with taking him to Porlyusica." Erza replied.

The scarlet-haired woman and her companion reached the substitute's body, after which they delicately tried to thrust him back into it. They didn't quite know if that was the right way to reunite the two separate bodies, but it was as good an idea as they could come up with for the time being.

Luckily, it seemed to work as the soul form of the orange-haired swordsman disappeared and the chest of his human body began to move, which showed that he was clearly breathing. With that done, Erza released a sigh of relief, obviously due to the fact that she now knew that her comrade was safe. Her white-haired guild mate, on the other hand, was far from relieved at this point in time.

"Are you going to tell me what happened or am I just going to have to keep asking?" Mira asked with a small scowl.

It was very clear that she had started to get annoyed by the redhead not answering her question. Perhaps she could have been more specific and to the point, but, given that she had just ran up to the unconscious form of Ichigo and helped Erza set his soul form back into his body, she really didn't think she needed to.

"That is a very complicated question to answer, and I myself do not know exactly what happened… but perhaps I can just show you." Erza replied.

Before the barmaid could inquire as to what her friend had meant, the scarlet-haired wizard presented a memory projection Lacrima that she had willed to appear out of her magical space. It happened to be the very same one that was 'gifted' to Ichigo, but since in this case words couldn't really describe what had occurred, she decided an image was the most efficient way.

_**Oak Town: Mountains Outside Phantom's Destroyed Guildhall**_

Fairy Tail's resident Fire Dragon Slayer was currently in a very foul mood, which was very clearly illustrated by the fact that his eyes were fixed in an angry glare and his lips were forming what seemed to be a natural scowl. The reasons for this were numerous but each very simple in nature.

Firstly, he had just witnessed one of his friends turn into a practical monster that nearly killed Erza. Though he was currently back to normal, he was unconscious and perhaps injured more severely than he or anyone else had thought.

Secondly, Lucy was evidently kidnapped by Phantom right from under their noses. The celestial mage had opted to stay by Levy in the hospital, acting as nothing more than a good friend who felt nothing but sorrow over what had happened.

It was also because of these two things that for the past half hour or so he had been ignoring the constant whining that came from the Phantom Lord wizard he was currently dragging along a jagged stone path by the collar.

Thus far, Happy had opted to stay quiet, knowing full well that his best friend was currently in a mood that traditionally meant something was about to be burnt into a pile of ashes, and then burned into an even tinier pile ashes immediately thereafter.

"Come on man, just let me go already!" The man whined, though the pink-haired teen once gain ignored him.

"So what are we gonna do now?" Happy asked in a quiet voice, testing the waters to see if his best friend was in a more talkative mood.

"Isn't it obvious? We're gonna go save Lucy, then we're goin' back to the guild and makin' sure Ichigo's okay." Natsu answered.

His tone was one of high annoyance, but it wasn't directed at the blue-furred cat in the slightest. In fact, Happy didn't think it was possible for Natsu not to be agitated after what had happened.

"Alright pal, where is she?" Natsu asked, once again sounding highly agitated.

"How should I know?" The man asked in a strained voice, the dragon slayer's grip around his neck making it somewhat difficult to speak.

"Look, a close friend of mine may or may not be severely injured right now, and another of my friends was captured behind our backs. So I'm not exactly in a good mood right now, which means that if you don't start talkin', you're gonna regret it." Natsu stated aggressively, restraining himself by using the small touch of mercy he still had left.

"I already told ya, I don't kno…" The man began.

The Phantom wizard's body was engulfed in flames before he could even finish his sentence, after which he began to squirm and shriek due to the fact that his body was currently on fire. Needless to say, it wasn't all that comfortable.

"AAAAH! Come on man, this hurts!" The man shouted.

"Start talkin', otherwise you'll turn into a pile of ashes before ya know it." Natsu stated, turning and glaring back at his technical prisoner.

"Aye." Happy said in agreement as he flew alongside the pink-haired wizard.

"If I knew anything I'd have told you by now!" The man pleaded desperately.

"Funny, I was thinkin' you should've been burned to a crisp by now." Natsu replied uncaringly.

"Come on man, put out the fire! Look, our headquarters is just up ahead. If I had to guess, that's where this Lucy chick would be!" He exclaimed.

An instant later Natsu let the fire around the enemy wizard's body go out before letting go of his collar. The man released a deep sigh of relief shortly thereafter, though subsequently after that the dragon slayer punched him with enough force to send him flying down the rocky pathway down to the bottom of the mountain.

"Then why didn't ya say that in the first place? God these guys are dumb…" Natsu thought aloud, not even bothering to watch the man continue to fly down the mountain pass.

"Aye…" Happy muttered in agreement.

The two best of friends continued to travel up the mountain just a few feet before they collectively began to look at the large castle-like building up ahead. Their essential prisoner had just told them that Phantom's headquarters was just up ahead, which told them exactly what this building was.

"So this is Phantom's main base, huh?" Natsu thought aloud as he continued to walk forwards.

"Natsu look, it's raining people!" Happy shouted cheerfully, gesturing a hand towards the figure of what seemed to be a falling human being.

The pink-haired dragon slayer made a confused expression before he turned to look up at the falling form of what he immediately knew to be a woman, who for some reason currently had her hands literally tied behind her back.

His confused expression, however, was replaced with one of extreme worry when the scent of the falling woman reached his nostrils. He knew perfectly well who this was, and with that in mind he ran towards the point where her body was likely to hit as quickly as he could.

"That's not just some person!" Natsu exclaimed, charging forward in an attempt to beat the body to the landing cite.

Even at the rate he was currently going it seemed as if he wasn't quite going to make it, but even so that wasn't an excuse not to try. This was his friend, and while he may have been helpless to save Ichigo from whatever happened to him, this was something he could stop, and come hell or high heaven he would put up all the effort he could in order to do so.

"Natsu!" Lucy screamed into the air as she continued to fall.

The pink-haired teen didn't know how his friend could tell he was there, but that cry for help only pushed him to go faster. With her body just about to smack into the ground, Natsu jumped forward with everything he had and just barely managed to grab ahold of her body and change her trajectory.

Unfortunately, that meant he was sent flying into a nearby brick wall, but still he had been hit much harder than that on numerous occasions. Even Ichigo hit harder when you tried to wake him up in the morning.

"Whew… looks like I made it just in time." Natsu said, his voice currently being muffled by the rather ample chest of the blonde-haired wizard.

"Yeah… thanks." Lucy said, a genuine smile etched on her face. Normally she likely would have freaked out given what her breasts were currently pressing up against, but this situation was an exception in her eyes.

Within moments, the dragon slayer lifted his friend off of his body, helped her to stand up, and freed her from her bindings. Both of them kept quiet during this time, even Happy who had come up from behind the two.

"Are you okay?" Natsu asked in a concerned voice.

"I-I guess so…" Lucy replied.

Truth be told she wasn't exactly fine, but she couldn't describe herself as such given that she knew perfectly well that she was the reason her guild had currently come under attack. Her father had been the primary catalyst for Phantom's actions, and now it was her responsibility to relay that information. It pained her to think that, however, due to the fact that she believed it would make the others hate her.

"What happened?" Happy questioned in an innocent tone.

Immediately after the inquiry of the blue feline was prompted, Lucy broke down into tears and began to sob. Natsu just glared at his blue-furred companion, who just stared at the blonde with a confused expression given that he didn't necessarily understand what was so bad about his question.

"I-I'm… so sorry… I'm so sorry…" Lucy sobbed out.

"Why're you crying?" Natsu asked, a mixture of concern and confusion present in his voice.

Lucy didn't seem to be capable of making a reply, but hopefully she would explain herself on the way back to the guild. With these thoughts in mid, Natsu picked up the celestial mage and had her latch on to his back, at which point he made to carry her back to the guild. Her crying, however, had yet to cease.

_**Magnolia: Remnants of the Fairy Tail Guildhall**_

In the wake of what was revealed on the Lacrima projection, Mirajane could do nothing but stare off into space even as the screen itself disappeared. The course of events that she had just witnessed made her blood run cold, though it wasn't necessarily because the creature itself was so terrifying.

It was mostly due to the fact that the man who had comforted her when she needed it and had previously saved her life became something like that. Moreover, the way he passed out made her uneasy given that for all she knew he could be in a coma at this very moment.

"T-That thing… was Ichigo?" Mira asked in a tone of disbelief.

"I don't believe it was. Yes, it may have been his body being used, but I don't believe it was actually Ichigo in control." Erza stated, refusing to believe otherwise be that due to her own personal feelings or because she truly believed there wasn't another possibility.

"Yeah… I don't think it was him either. Still… that thing… the energy it used w-was… it was terrifying." Cana stated, a cold chill echoing throughout her body at the memory of the creature's roar.

The rest of the guildhall seemed to have the same reaction at the recollection of what the masked demon looked like. However, one fact remained necessary to point out, and the scarlet-haired woman wouldn't allow it to go unsaid.

"Ichigo is still a member of our guild and a member of our family. You all know what he is like at this point, so I want anyone who thinks that was possibly him to speak up!" Erza shouted angrily, almost sickened by the fear they were showing towards their own comrade.

Ichigo Kurosaki wasn't a man that was to be feared by those he protected, and everyone else was fully aware of that as they seemed to come back to their senses with the redhead's declaration. That didn't change the fact that they were frightened by the transformation, but it did change their current state of mind given that the orange-haired teen had reverted to his original appearance.

"So then is the master okay?" Mira asked, though her eyes were currently fixed on the body of the Substitute Soul Reaper.

"Yes, Master Makarov is still alive but his magical energy was drained heavily. It isn't likely that he will be rejoining us anytime soon, which means our strength is currently at a low point." Erza replied grimly.

"I see… and where's Natsu?" Mira questioned.

As if to answer her question, the doors of the guildhall shot wide open once more, revealing the mentioned dragon slayer to be carrying Lucy on his back. The blond was currently crying with a saddened look present in her traditionally cheerful brown eyes.

"Natsu, what happened?" Gray asked, running up towards the duo and the accompanying flying cat without any hesitation.

"You guys aren't gonna believe this…" Natsu began, earning the interest of everyone present.

_**Ichigo's Inner World**_

The strangest sensation wracked the orange-haired teens being as his eyes shot wide open. He found himself standing upright atop a wayward skyscraper, the clouds of his inner world floating around in an otherwise beautiful blue sky.

Up until this point, however, he had felt as if he was asleep. On top of that, he couldn't remember anything after seeing Makarov's body hit the ground of Phantom's guildhall. However, when the images began to float into his mind, he desperately wished he could forget.

"What the hell is going on?! Why am I here?!" Ichigo shouted out in a panic, looking around his essential soul for any sign of his zanpakuto's spirit.

The fact that he was here meant he should at least be seeing someone, but since that wasn't the case, his current situation was very concerning. In all honesty, even seeing his inner hollow would have been more comforting than seeing his inner world empty as could be.

"**Hehehe… well now don't you look all stressed out.**" A raspy voice called out from a behind him.

The substitute's eyes shot wide open upon hearing that voice, the sound of a being he sorely regretted wishing for the presence of the instant having heard those words. He turned around to see the white-clad form of his notorious inner hollow standing atop a nearby sideways-oriented building.

'_What the hell is happening?! Why is he here now of all times?_' Ichigo wondered.

It was true that he had only recently gotten his powers back, and as a result he hadn't even bothered entering his inner world. A little bit of him had hoped that his hollow powers had vanished and his Soul Reaper powers were all that remained, but that didn't quite make sense since his hollow had told him repeatedly how his powers functioned.

However, that still didn't explain why he was currently loose and the old man was nowhere in sight. Moreover, it also didn't tell him how on earth he lost control of his hollow powers so easily after being sent into a state of shock.

"**Not even gonna say hello? God you're an ass…**" The hollow stated, after which it vanished in the blue of flash step.

The pale-skinned spirit moved to a new position across from Ichigo, who in return just stared at his face with a shocked expression. Granted it had been some time and the teen probably wasn't all too thrilled to see him, but that didn't give him a reason to be a practical mute.

"**Are you ever gonna say anything at all? After over a year I'd figure you'd have a thing or two to say, but apparently not.**" The hollow mused, apparently breaking the substitute out of his daze at the same time.

"You…" Ichigo growled out, his traditional scowl and accompanying glare returning in full force.

"**Now that's what I expected… you don't look happy at all, do you?**" The hollow stated, after which he began to chuckle to himself.

"Don't screw with me! I want answers, now!" Ichigo shouted, gripping his zanpakuto given that he believed this meeting would inevitably lead to a confrontation.

"**Will you calm down? If I had wanted to fight you, then I wouldn't have revealed where I was, I would've just attacked you from behind when I had the chance.**" He stated matter-of-factly.

At this, the orange-haired teen slowly began to bring his hand back down towards his sides. It was very true that it would have made more sense for his inner hollow to attack when he wasn't expecting it, but that didn't really give him any more reason to trust him given the pale-skinned spirit's track record for ruining his life.

"**Now… tell me what the hell you want to ask me. You're probably confused, but then again I guess I am too.**" The hollow said.

"Why are you here and where is old man Zangetsu?" Ichigo questioned sternly.

"**You asked me the same damn thing the last time we fought, so what would make you think the answer has changed?**" The hollow countered.

The substitute's eyes widened out of a small sense of shock a moment later upon a realization dawning on him. The last time he had truly fought his inner hollow, the answer he was given to that question was that Zangetsu had been absorbed, which meant that apparently the very same thing had happened yet again.

"What did you do?!" Ichigo shouted in an agitated manner.

"**Me? Why the hell do you assume I did something?! It was that black-haired chick that stabbed you with that weird-ass sword. You remember that, right?**" The hollow replied.

"What of it?" Ichigo shot back.

He did recall the manner in which his powers were just recently restored, but all the same he didn't really see how it was relevant. His powers were back, and that was the end of that story, or so he believed.

"**When she restored your powers, I was the aspect that was resurrected because the old man relied on my powers when he was last fighting you. That is why I am in control while he is still dormant.**" The hollow explained.

"Even if that's true and you aren't really up to something, that still doesn't explain why you tried to take over." Ichigo countered.

"**Heh, nothing gets past you, does it? Fine, I'll admit that what just happened was all on me, though it wasn't me trying to take over. Yeah, the end result wasn't really pretty, but if you want me to apologize for it then you can keep dreaming, cuz' that ain't gonna happen in a million years.**" The hollow scoffed.

"You've got three seconds to explain to me why you did that before I shove you back into whatever hole in my inner world you crawled out of." Ichigo threatened, obviously not being pleased by the results of his practical rampage.

Not only had be cut through a good number of Phantom wizards, he had also likely injured Erza, a person that he wouldn't wish harm on in his lifetime. In fact, had it been any of the Fairy Tail wizards he would have been upset, which only made him angrier given that his inner hollow had put them in jeopardy as well.

"**We're in a world that I know isn't our own and since you're such a colossal dumbass I needed to be direct in order to call you in here. To do that, I had to force your consciousness out at a time when your anger finally let your control slip, if only a little.**"" The hollow replied.

"You think that's an excuse?!" Ichigo shouted.

"**It is when you refuse to listen to me! Ever since we've gotten here I've tried to speak to you, but nothing I've said has been heard. I might as well have been talking to a brick wall, and now that your hear I still don't see a damn difference!**" The hollow yelled.

Both of the two look-alikes stood in silence for some time, each allowing the words that were just said to sink in. A good sign was that the two hadn't drawn their swords and started stabbing at one another, but that wasn't a good indication that it wouldn't soon occur.

"Then let me ask you this… why exactly did you want to speak with me so badly?" Ichigo questioned, deciding to buy into the premise that this was what his hollow desired.

At this point Ichigo believed that had his inner hollow truly desired control of his body, he wouldn't be wasting time speaking to him. That still didn't give him enough of a reason to drop his guard, but it did prevent him from outright charging his former and potentially current enemy.

"**I thought that'd be obvious, even for an idiot like you. Oh well… I guess if I don't tell you outright you won't get it. I wanted to talk to you about our current situation.**" The hollow replied.

"What about it?" Ichigo questioned, desiring a little bit of clarification.

"**I want to know just what the hell you intend to do? We're in this together, whether you like it or not.**" The hollow stated.

"If you can hear and see everything that I do, then you know exactly what I intend to do. I don't think there's a way back from this end, at least not one that anyone seems to be aware of, and I don't exactly think I'm an expert on traveling between two dimensions." Ichigo replied.

"**You say that, but you still managed to somehow find your way here… oh well, can't be helped I guess. Fine, I'll agree with staying put here for now.**" The hollow thought aloud.

"Why are you talking like you're a factor in my decision?" Ichigo asked confusedly. It was a bit of a far stretch, especially for his hollow, to assume something like that.

"**Because like I said the two of us are stuck here together. Also, so long as you don't go and get yourself killed, we won't have a problem, so don't expect me to try anything funny.**" The hollow replied.

"Um… what?" Ichigo questioned, sounding even more confused than prior.

At this point the pale-skinned version of himself was just adding more and more things that he didn't understand. In the past, this being wouldn't think twice about trying to kill him, and yet here and now he didn't express even the slightest intent of doing so.

"**Hehehehehe… you probably weren't expectin' that, were ya? But it's true, I don't really want to take over your body right now. Call me lazy if ya want, but after a year of being in a practical coma I don't really want to do anything but move around and take it easy…**" The hollow explained.

Ichigo just looked at the hollow with a deadpanned expression, being unable to fathom that level of laziness. Still, it benefitted him so he figured he wouldn't question it, and that is also likely the reason he didn't detect that what was just said had been an outright lie, though it was the reasons that was a lie and not the actual statement.

"**Oh, by the way, I may as well tell ya what's goin' on outside of your body. I think this is somethin' you probably want to hear. Think of it as a peace offering I guess.**" The hollow stated.

"What's happening?" Ichigo inquired curiously.

"**Well… that blonde chick cried a lot, then she started blabbering about how she's really a rich girl who ran away from her home to join a guild and her daddy didn't want that. Oh, also her dad is the reason those Phantom guys are after Fairy Tail… after she said that, I think she cried some more… and then I got nothin'.**" The hollow replied.

"Wait, what?!" Ichigo exclaimed in a surprised voice.

"**Why do you always make me repeat myself…**" The hollow groaned out.

"I heard what you said! She probably blames herself, and if she's the one they're after they'll try to hit the guildhall again. I've gotta go, and don't try anything, or else!" Ichigo shouted, after which he vanished in a flash of light.

"**Tch… if I really wanted to try something, I'd have done it by now. Still, I guess I can't say I'm unhappy with how things have turned out. Even if we're not in the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, or the world of the living, I always did want that old fart to be kept under wraps. Jackass even took my name…**" The "hollow" thought aloud.

_**Magnolia: Remnants of Fairy Tail's Guildhall**_

After the runaway heiress of the Hertfilia family had informed the rest of the guild, the mood had become even more sullen than prior. Though they now knew the reason for Phantom's attacks, it devastated them to see the blonde blame herself. It was true that perhaps it had been inadvertently her fault, but she couldn't possibly help that, nor could she help what her father had decided to do.

"Lucy… you shouldn't be so sad. We don't blame you at all, ya know?" Natsu said in a comforting tone, though his words did very little to actually change the female wizard's sullen mood.

"Natsu's right, Lucy, you can't help what your father did. None of us blame you, and we will still fight on." Erza reassured.

Lucy looked up at both the dragon slayer and the scarlet-haired knight and gave them a sad smile. It was very comforting to know that her friends didn't blame her, but that didn't change the fact that she still blamed herself.

"How's Ichigo doin', Mira?" Gray asked, walking up and checking on the still unconscious body of the orange-haired teen.

"He's still not awake…" Mira replied in a saddened tone, grasping the unconscious man's hand in an attempt to simply reassure herself that he was alive.

"Cana, have you had any luck locating Mystogen?" Erza questioned, turning towards the booze enthusiast as she continuously examined her cards.

"Dammit!" Cana shouted out angrily, tossing her cards up in the air in an agitated manner.

"Well that answers that…" Gray mumbled.

"I'm not getting a reading on Mystogen, which means he probably won't be back to give us any help." Cana replied.

"Damn… we still have too many injured to put up a decent fight. Even with Azlak and Bisca returning from taking the master to Porlyusica, I doubt our ability to make an adequate defense." Erza thought aloud.

"I think… I think that there's one person that we still haven't tried calling." Mira stated.

The white-haired woman then walked over to a nearby Communication Lacrima crystal and began to operate it. For some time, nothing happened, but soon enough the image of a blond-haired man with a lighting-like scar on his right eye appeared within the crystal sphere.

"_Well now this is a surprise. What do you want?_" Laxus scoffed, obviously not taking a friendly view on the barmaid's call.

"Laxus… our guild is under attack and the master is seriously injured. Most of our other members have also suffered injuries and we are unable to locate Mystogen. We could really use your help." Mira stated.

"_Guhh…_" Laxus grunted out in a dissatisfied manner.

"Please, Fairy Tail is in serious danger." Mira pleaded, though the words she said made her inwardly scowl.

Asking the egotistical mage for assistance was something she'd never do in a thousand years unless she really needed to, but since Ichigo was unconscious, the master was incapacitated, and many were injured, she didn't really have much of a choice.

"_Man, Makarov is freakin' pathetic, hahahaha! I don't see how this is remotely my problem. You're good girls, so deal with it yourselves._" Laxus sneered.

"So you're not gonna help us?!" Cana asked in an agitated manner.

"_Of course not, why would I? That senile old toad started it, so why do I have to be the one to clean up his mess?_" Laxus countered.

"Laxus, there trying to kidnap Lucy and we really could use your help." Mira said, continuing with the practical begging despite the fact that she loathed doing so with all of her being.

"_Lucy? Do I even know her? Oh yeah… I think I remember. Hey, tell ya what, if you can talk blondie into bein' by woman then I'll do anything she wants._" Laxus stated.

"You are such a pig!" Cana exclaimed.

"_Are ya sure you wanna talk that way to a guy your begging for the help of?_" Laxus countered with a cocky smirk.

Both Mira and Cana looked at the Communication Lacrima and scowled, mostly due to the fact that there last hope was currently toying with them and simultaneously refusing to grant them assistance.

Before they could continue begging or pleading, however, someone's foot instantly came into contact with the crystal and kicked it into a nearby wall, effectively shattering it into a thousand tiny pieces.

When this occurred, most everyone present looked at the perpetrator and instantly dawned an expression of sheer relief upon seeing that it was none other than Ichigo, who stood in place still scowling at the fragments of the Lacrima.

"Ichigo!" Mira exclaimed happily, fighting the urge to run up and squeeze the life out of the recently awakened individual.

"That guy really is a heartless bastard… but don't worry, we won't need his help, not if I have anything to do with it." Ichigo stated in reassurance.

"Ichigo, are you alright?" Erza asked, walking up to the orange-haired man with an unsure expression on her features.

"Look… before any of you ask any questions about what happened, and I know you probably have them, I will just say I'll explain it later. Trust me when I say it won't happen again, and right now we've got bigger problems to deal with." Ichigo stated.

The members of the guild looked at him and nodded in understanding, some possessing a small smile of happiness at the fact that he was back to normal and evidently hadn't changed in the wake of his odd transformation and subsequent regression.

However, since he had previously been knocked out cold, a certain pink-haired teen believed it necessary to inform him of what new information had come to light.

"Alright, but you should probably be told that they're after…" Natsu began, though he was cut off.

"Lucy, I know. I also know that it was her dad that hired them and that she thinks it's her fault." Ichigo stated.

Many present just looked at him with a confused expression, no one understanding how it was possible that he was aware that this was the case. Though given that he was previously passed out this was a natural response.

"Yeah… well then talk some sense into her!" Natsu exclaimed, gesturing a finger towards the blonde as she continued to hug her legs from her seated position atop a barrel.

The orange-haired teen opened his mouth so as to comply with the request of his friend, but before he could actually say anything at all, the ground began to shake. The vibrations were continuous and occurred after an interval of a few seconds, which meant that it wasn't an earthquake of any kind and it also wasn't likely to be some kind of terraforming magic.

With worried expressions, everyone then began to rush out of the guildhall, obviously being concerned about what was going on but no one actually knowing what the source of the earth's shaking was.

_**Outside the Guildhall**_

"W-What the hell?" Natsu uttered in a tone of disbelief.

Out in the water that was nearest to the guild's entrance, a large structure that many knew to be Phantom's headquarters stood in place, being supported by a series of mechanical, metal spider-like legs.

"It's a guildhall with ginormous legs!" Happy exclaimed.

"I-Is it Phantom?" Loke wondered aloud, sweat dripping down his brow.

"Who the hell else would it be?" Ichigo asked rhetorically.

"I never anticipated this… I never thought they would go to such extremes to attack us." Erza said in a fearful tone.

The large mobile guildhall ceased its forward movements a moment later, after which it allowed itself to rest in the waters just offshore from Fairy Tail's Guildhall. The raw size of it was imposing enough, and that was without consideration to the wizards that it housed, among whom were likely the Element Four and the Iron Dragon Slayer. Needless to say, it was obvious that Fiore's strongest guild was currently outgunned in the eyes of most.

"_**Attention members of Fairy Tail, this is Jose Porla addressing you from within the headquarters of our guild.**_" Jose's voice called out from the speaker system the building apparently possessed.

'_So this is the guy who's behind the attacks on Fairy Tail._' Ichigo thought, scowling heavily upon hearing the man's voice for the first time.

In all likelihood he wouldn't forget it, because the second he encountered the owner of that voice he would make that person would quickly come to regret the day they were born.

"_**You members of Fairy Tail currently have something that we desire, or rather, someone. Surrender Lucy Heartfilia at once and I promise your lives will be spared. Refuse, and… well, see if you can grasp the symbolism.**_" Jose stated.

Upon Phantom's master saying these words, the centermost point of the guild's headquarters began to lift upwards as if it were a retractable door. Out of the void that was created, the form of a cannon-looking object could be seen, which extended within seconds and directed itself towards Fairy Tail's guildhall in a clear attempt to rattle them.

"It's the Magical Convergent Cannon Jupiter…" Mira uttered fearfully, her pupils shaking as she spoke.

For someone to even consider the use of such a weapon was inconceivable. This wasn't just something that went against the Magic Council. It was a crime that may have gotten Phantom's master a death sentence.

"_**As you can see, you have no choice but to surrender. Refuse, and you will all be destroyed.**_" Jose continued.

"Like hell we'd ever do that!" Natsu roared angrily, raising his fist in the air defiantly.

"Yeah, what kind of man would hand over their comrade to the likes of you?!" Elfman shouted.

"What kind of guild would hand over one of their own to a monster like you?!" Bisca exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Azlak shouted in agreement.

"You hear that?! Lucy's stayin' right here!" Macao roared.

One by one, each and every member of Fairy Tail shouted something along the same lines in the defense of the blonde. Their refusal to hand her over, even in the face of what many likely thought to be their own demise, was truly a sight to behold.

Lucy almost collapsed on her knees, but she managed to stop herself and remain standing. However, she was unable to stop the large streams of tears that fell from her eyes. Despite all that had happened, she was still accepted, and such a thought warmed her heart unlike anything before.

"_**Very well… you've made your choice.**_" Jose sneered angrily.

A large collection of pitch-black magical energy began to gather at the tip of the cannon's barrel. It continued to grow, collecting more and more power with each passing millisecond.

"Someone catch me!" Ichigo shouted.

He grabbed his combat pass and ejected himself from his human body as quickly as he could, after which he drew Zangetsu from its clothed-state and used flash step to appear in the air directly in front of the guildhall.

Most everyone in Fairy Tail stared at the orange-haired teen with an expression of absolute shock. They each saw that his blade was currently pointed directly at the gathering magic of the Jupiter cannon, but many just didn't believe it.

"What are you doing Ichigo?! You can't take a hit from that cannon, no one could survive a direct hit!" Mira shouted worriedly, though the substitute didn't move.

"Just stay put and let me handle this!" Ichigo shouted, though his words did little to calm the nerves of anyone preset.

'_Ichigo, what are you trying to accomplish? I know you're strong, but this is…_" Erza thought, being paralyzed by the boldness of the man's action.

It was comforting to see him throw away all caution in an attempt to save his comrades, as it was something that she would do. However, just because it was something she would do in a heartbeat didn't mean it was astronomically stupid. She had nearly lost him once already today, and she wouldn't have it happen again.

"_**Well now, this is indeed interesting… however I am afraid that your friend is correct. You don't stand a chance against our magical cannon.**_" Jose said.

As if to spite the man's words, Ichigo began to charge his blade with a colossal amount of spiritual energy. The blue aura engulfed the air around him and whipped around uncontrollably, the force behind which rivaled that of the Jupiter cannon. It appeared that he was about to directly challenge the incoming destructive force, but whether he would actually be able to do such a thing remained to be seen.

"Ichigo, stop this at once! You gain nothing by risking your life here!" Erza exclaimed.

She made an attempt to move forwards in order to stop him, but she was grabbed by both Gray and Natsu who appeared to do so reluctantly given that they knew perfectly well they would regret doing this later. The fact that she struggled a great deal to break free only serviced to reinforce that belief.

"Let go of me at once! Can't you see I need to stop him! He's going to get himself killed!" Erza shouted angrily, her eyes never leaving the orange-haired teen's form.

"You're not gonna stop him, just have faith in him." Gray stated.

"Ichigo will stop that blast, you can count on it." Natsu said in reassurance.

The redhead stopped struggling, though both of her comrades were far from stupid enough to let her go given that with how stubborn she was it was entirely possible that the second she was free she would still try to stop him. However, for the time being she was pacified and that was all that mattered.

The massive gathering of magical energy reached its critical point shortly after the orange-haired teen had started to flare his spiritual pressure and charge his blade with all the power he could muster.

A moment later, the large sphere of magical energy shot towards Fairy Tail's guildhall without delay. The blast was so powerful that the water scattered in its path and the wind whipped outwards at high speeds.

Ichigo, however, stood his ground and prepared to mount his counterattack. He never took his eyes off of the cannon's projectile for even a moment, because if he were to let this thing past him then everyone behind him would be hurt, and there was no chance of him allowing such a thing to happen.

"Gestuga Tenshou!" Ichigo roared, swinging is blade forwards and sending a massive wave of light blue spiritual energy shooting towards the incoming blast.

The two forces collided with one another, hitting with so much force that the water around it completely scattered, revealing the rocky ground that lay at the very bottom of the water. It was a practical tug of war, neither side being absolutely dominant and neither being lesser than the other, at least for the time being.

Between the two, however, it was clear that only one had the capability of being reinforced as time went on, as evident by the increasingly large amount of energy that quickly began to push back the magical energy collected and fired by the cannon.

"H-He's doing it!" Cana exclaimed in an astonished tone, gazing as the wave of blue continued to clash with the colossal ray of magical energy that had recently threatened to destroy their guildhall.

_**Phantom's Headquarters: Main Control Room**_

"M-Master Jose, that man is blocking the Jupiter Cannon's attack!" One of the controllers exclaimed worriedly.

"I-Impossible…" Jose uttered out of disbelief, a small amount of sweat dripping down his brow.

_**Outside Fairy Tail's Guildhall**_

'_I won't let this thing get past me! If I give even an inch, I'm putting everyone's lives at risk! I have to win! I will win!_' Ichigo thought, refusing to give even the slightest bit of ground to the admittedly powerful blast of magical energy.

The current state of the two force's collision could be described as a stalemate, which in and of itself was very impressive. However, the substitute possessed one factor on his side that would allow him to overcome the attack, and that was the simple fact that he had energy to pour in, while the cannon wasn't even making the slightest hint of firing off again.

'_**Heh... looks like you really haven't changed all that much after all. Still, it'd be a problem for me if you get hurt here, and if you just got out of the way I'd never hear you stop complaining about how you let everyone down. So... I guess I don't have a problem giving you this.**_' The hollow stated, his voice, for the first time in a long, long while, reaching the ears of his 'partner'.

Ichigo felt a massive surge of spiritual energy flood through his being, the likes of which he hadn't in quite some time. Perhaps it was the fact that he hadn't been forced to use a great amount of spiritual energy as of yet, or perhaps it was the fact that he hadn't been in possession of his powers for quite some time. Nevertheless, the power he currently had was more than enough to get the job done, and that's exactly what he would do with it.

"AAHHHHHHH!" Ichigo screamed, pouring more and more of his spiritual energy into his attack.

Little by little, it was clear that the amount of blue was consuming the energy launched by the Jupiter cannon, much to everyone's continued surprise and joy on the part of each and every Fairy Tail wizard. The impossible was being done before their very eyes, and it seemed that the substitute still had more in store.

With one powerful burst, the energy that had been previously fired by the magical cannon was consumed and destroyed, but in the wake of the energies disappearance, the blue spiritual pressure that backed Ichigo's Getsuga was still going strong.

The large attack continued to fly forwards, heading directly towards the barrel of the large weapon that had just recently fired off. With each passing second, the spiritual energy neared its target, and when contact was made, a large explosion of fire and smoke erupted.

Phantom's Jupiter cannon was currently invisible to the view of everyone from their current prospective, but even so the fact that Ichigo had not only blocked, but successfully overcame the cannon's blast was extremely impressive. Shortly thereafter, however, the smoke and fire did clear, revealing the appearance of the massive weapon to everyone at its front.

_**Phantom's Headquarters: Control Room**_

"Status report! Tell me what's going on dammit!" Jose roared angrily.

"The Jupiter cannon isn't responding sir… it… it's too damaged to fire again." One of the men replied.

"I knew he was powerful, but to think that he was capable of this?!" Jose exclaimed, glaring at the flying form of the boy who had just overcome a blast from one of the most powerful weapons in the magical world.

"Sir, I have more bad news. It appears that Totamaru of the Element Four was also caught in the blast. He's highly injured and is currently being escorted to the medical ward." Another stated.

"Great… just great…" Jose sighed out, slumping back into his chair as he did so.

_**Outside Fairy Tail's Guildhall**_

"N-No way…" Gray trialed off with a shocked expression on his face.

'_He… he did it. He actually did it…_' Mira thought, not even capable of using words at this point in time due to her shock.

"The Jupiter Cannon… he destroyed it." Erza said in an awestruck tone.

Before their very eyes, the previously menacing barrel of the magical weapon was completely destroyed. The central hall of Phantom's guild was also completely in shambles, fire clearly raging within the control room of the cannon itself.

Ichigo appeared at the forefront of the Fairy Tail wizards a moment later, stabbing his zanpakuto into the ground in an effort to keep himself standing. He was panting quite heavily, and he had a worn-out expression on his face, but after such a display of power that was to be expected even for someone as strong as he was.

Almost immediately, Mira was at his side with a concerned expression etched on her face, helping him to keep his body steady. Still, he had both saved them and was currently still alive, which was quite the accomplishment given the number of wizards capable of doing such a thing was very, very small.

"Ichigo, are you alright?" Mira questioned.

"Yeah… I used up a lot of my spiritual energy in that last attack, but I should still be fine, I just… need a minute." Ichigo replied, prompting the barmaid to smile warmly.

"You know you shouldn't have done that…" Mira lightly chided.

"With the alternative of losing you and everyone else? Yeah, I don't think so." Ichigo replied.

The words of Fairy Tail's latest member broke Erza out of her previously awe-inspired daze. When that happened, it was highly unfortunate that Gray and Natsu were still in their own, as they were still restraining her, though not very well.

Within a split second, she broke free, punched them both in the gut, and sent them falling into the ground. It was possible that she may have blamed them for preventing her from being the one in Mira's current position, but at the same time being restrained in any way wasn't exactly something she found tolerable.

"While what you've just accomplished is very impressive, we can't allow ourselves to believe we have won the day." Erza stated as she walked towards the substitute and her white-haired friend.

"_**It would seem that Titania Erza is indeed as wise as I was told. If you believe that you've defeated us simply because the Jupiter cannon has been destroyed then you are highly mistaken, little fairies.**_" Jose said matter-of-factly.

In the next instant a large magic circle appeared over the front of the mobile castle, its aim directly set to the remnants of Fairy Tail's guildhall. Ichigo hadn't the slightest clue of what it was, he only knew that it couldn't be good, and judging from the fearful reaction present on everyone else's respective faces, that was a correct assumption to make.

"No way!" Gray shouted worriedly.

"That's the magic circle of the Abyss Break, one of the forbidden spells…" Mira trailed of fearfully.

"Is he nuts?! A black wave that big would wipe out the entire city!" Loke exclaimed.

"_**If by chance you were thinking of stopping this powerful spell from firing, you won't even have the chance. My soldiers will stomp you out long before that could ever hope to happen.**_" Jose stated smugly.

From the windows of the large mobile headquarters, what seemed to be hundreds of dark shades began to pour forth. Each was the exact same in appearance, being made of pure shadows and wearing hoods that concealed their faces, however their menacing red eyes glowed from underneath.

The shades began to swarm around the guildhall, hovering over the group of Fairy Tail wizards as if they were about to swoop down and snatch their prey.

"Everyone remain calm! We fight for our guilds survival, so don't even think about giving an inch to these abominations!" Erza shouted in an attempt to rally her comrades.

"We can fight the shades without any problems, but what about the Abyss Break?" Cana inquired, her cards already drawn in preparation of the battle that was about to occur.

"Simple. A few of us take the fight to them while you take care of defending the guildhall. If we take down Jose and Phantom's aces, then this is over. We only need to do that before the Abyss Break thing fires off." Ichigo stated.

"Easier said than done…" Cana muttered.

"Who'd ya have in mind? Also, if one of 'em isn't me, I'm gonna be pissed." Natsu said cheerfully, a grin etched on his face.

"Before I say anything about that, I need to ask you something, Mira." Ichigo began, turning to the white-haired woman as he spoke.

"I'll do whatever I can." Mira assured.

"All I need you to do is make sure that Lucy is somewhere safe. If there after her, than its safe to say that the second they capture here they will just retreat because that is what they're after in the end." Ichigo stated, eliciting a nod from the barmaid.

"Wait, I…" Lucy began to protest.

Mira waved a hand in front of her face an instant later, casting a small sleeping spell and effectively knocking the blonde out cold. Given what had just happened and how vehemently the guild had defended her, it would have been impossible for her to willingly leave her comrades to fight while she was cowering off somewhere else.

The barmaid caught Lucy's body immediately thereafter, taking her back into the guildhall in an attempt to safely transport her out the other end so that Phantom wouldn't see where she would be sent off to.

"Alright, now that that's over with, I think it'd be best if we go into two separate groups, two each, and go on opposite ends of their headquarters so that we cover more ground. I'll go to the west portion with Erza, and Happy will take Natsu and Gray to the eastern section." Ichigo stated, turning back to said people as he did so.

"Right." They collectively replied, nodding their heads in understanding.

"Hang on a minute, you're short one person." Elfman pointed out, walking up from behind the substitute with a determined expression on his face.

"Huh?" Natsu uttered confusedly.

"You've got to take down the Element Four and the Iron Dragon Slayer. That makes you short one man." Elfman explained.

"And I take it you want to be the fifth?" Ichigo guessed.

"I'm doing this because I want payback for what these punks did to our guild. If I have to fight to the last breath for Fairy Tail, I will." Elfman replied in a determined tone.

"Happy…" Ichigo called, turning to look at the blue-furred cat as he did so.

"Yes?" Happy inquired, his tone no longer cheerful but rather serious in light of the current situation.

"Can you carry three people?" Ichigo questioned.

"Aye sir." Happy replied while simultaneously nodding.

"Elfman, you're going with Natsu and Gray. I guess we could use all the help we can get." Ichigo stated.

"Thanks… I promise I won't let you down. Today I prove just how manly I really am." Elfman replied with a smirk.

"I know you'll pull through… but enough talking for now. We have to get moving or that thing fires off and it's all over." Ichigo stated.

A moment later Natsu grabbed onto Happy's feet, after which the blue-haired feline took flight. Elfman then grabbed on to Natsu's ankles, and Gray did the same though to the person immediately above himself shortly thereafter. The four began to soar towards the large fortress courtesy of Happy's wings, leaving the remaining two members of their expeditionary group back on the shore.

"Am I to assume that you will fly us towards the eastern half?" Erza questioned, raising a curious brow. Another option was for her to simple fly alongside him towards their destination, but either way flight was involved so it didn't really matter how she phrased the question. She viewed the subtle hint as necessary, however.

"No, the method I have in mind will take less time and at the same time it will give us the element of surprise. They probably expect only one group to be headed towards them, and if we fly then they'll know both that we're coming and where we are headed." Ichigo replied.

"Then you are going to transport us using your 'flash step' technique?" Erza guessed.

"Yes, I am. But for that to work, I need you to hold on to m…" Ichigo began, only to be cut off as a massive force wrapped around his body and clamped down.

He looked down with a confused expression to see Erza latching onto his body for dear life, a light hint of red on her cheeks as she did so. If appearances were anything to go by, it looked like the redheaded female believed flash step was some kind of teleportation technique that would potentially result in a lost limb or something horrible along those lines.

"Um… what the hell are you doing?" Ichigo asked evenly, a small blush on his face as he spoke.

"I happen to be nervous about this form of transportation, so pardon me for being cautious." Erza replied defensively, the blush on her face increasing all the while.

"O-Okay, I guess so long as you don't let go it doesn't really matter. Get ready…" Ichigo said.

The scarlet-haired woman closed her eyes a moment later, shortly after which the two vanished from sight and headed off towards Phantom's headquarters. Their comrades were currently staring down the looming shades, prepared to fight to the bitter end if need be.

"Alright guys, our guild mates are working on taking down Phantom, which means it's our job to hold off these shades. We have to put our trust in them and hold up on our end!" Cana exclaimed.

The shades let out a collective demonic cry before they descended on the more than prepared Fairy Tail wizards. This battle would be far from easy, but none of the mortal combatants were willing to let that deter them from giving this fight everything they had.

_**Phantom's Headquarters: Eastern Roof Section, With Natsu, Gray, and Elfman**_

"Head's up guys, we're comin' in hot!" Natsu shouted so as to warn his comrades of their impending landing.

Though the warning was likely well appreciated, at first, it may have been sounded off a little bit too late. By the time that it was actually delivered, they were but a few feet from landing.

As a result of this, the person at the very bottom of the chain being held up by Happy slammed into the section of the castle's stone roof that they landed on, after which his body was dragged for several subsequent feet upon letting go of Elfman's legs.

The other two members landed on their feet, having no evident issues with their method of entrance. Gray, on the other hand, was steaming given that he had just unfortunately been thrust across the roof of the mobile headquarters.

"You did that on purpose!" Gray shouted angrily, a bright red trail showing itself from his face down his chest as a result of the friction.

"Where the hell did your clothes go?" Natsu asked confusedly.

"Don't ignore me!" Gray exclaimed in an annoyed tone.

"I did not do that on purpose! I just thought you'd be smart enough to let go before somethin' like that happened." Natsu replied smugly.

"Bite me flame-brain. I'm lookin' for the Element Four somewhere else. You two have fun on your own." Gray stated before he began to walk off.

"Actually I think it's best if we all split up, otherwise it'd take too much time. I'll go look somewhere else for a member of the Element Four, the two of you should do the same." Elfman said before he walked off in another direction.

"Tch, I ain't going for a member of the Element Four. I got my sights set on a dragon slayer that I got a bone ta pick with." Natsu growled out.

The three went their separate ways, Happy having chosen to accompany Natsu for obvious reasons. Each had their mind set on defeating an elite member of Phantom Lord, and while that was no easy task, they currently had no other option than to succeed.

_**Phantom's Headquarters: Western Roof Section, With Ichigo and Erza**_

The remaining two members of the insurgent group phased into existence on the rooftop of the building's western section. Their departure couldn't have been noticed, and the fact that they had made it to the fortress successfully gave them the element of surprise.

However, despite the fact that their short-lived traveling period had ended, a certain redheaded female wizard had yet to relinquish her grip. Ichigo looked down to see why this was the case and instantly took note that her eyes were closed and that she didn't seem to register they had stopped moving.

"You can let go of me now…" Ichigo trailed off.

Erza's eyes almost immediately shot wide open, after which she released the substitute from her grip. With a blush on her face, she then turned her back to him out of sheer embarrassment, which was only increased by her prior sense of, evidently needless, worry over their method of travel.

"Ehem… yes, well, thank you for getting us here quickly. Moreover I believe we still possess the element of surprise." Erza said, simultaneously making an attempt at regaining her composure.

"No problem… but now that we're here, we need to move quickly." Ichigo stated, eliciting a nod of understanding from his companion.

"Who is it that we are searching for?" Erza questioned.

"I've got my heart set on kicking their guild master's ass. After everything he's done, I think I owe him that much." Ichigo replied.

"Then that would leave a member of the Element Four unattended." Erza pointed out.

She understood the desire to get revenge for what had happened, but just the same their priority was to defeat Phantom first. That, unfortunately, meant dealing with their wizards first before moving to the head of the organization and taking him down.

"Then I'm sorry to ask this, but I'm gonna need you to take down an extra fighter. You're more than strong enough to do that, and besides, we need to take down their master to stop those shades from attacking our guild mates." Ichigo said.

"I see your point… and I suppose I have no objections." Erza replied.

In truth the scarlet-haired woman desired to fight Phantom's master herself, or at the very least alongside Ichigo due to the atrocious crimes he had committed against their guild. Still, this was a request from a man she respected, and given the circumstances she'd just have to suck it up on the off chance they did happen to run into two of the Element Four.

"Thanks… now stand back a bit. I'm gonna blow out the ceiling, and when I do I need you to take out whoever's in the room below us, because I'm pretty sure it won't be empty." Ichigo stated.

The redheaded wizard didn't even have a chance to voice her opinion on that particular course of action before Ichigo drew his zanpakuto and stabbed it into the stone roof of the western section. Predictably, the stone gave in and created a large hole in the ceiling.

"What the h…" A man began upon seeing the roof collapse.

Within an instant, each of the six men who had been situated in the room, likely just patrolling the area, were taken down by a sword-wielding woman with an angry look in her eyes. They also saw a black-clad man with a large sword enter the room as well, but they were each knocked out before they could get a good look at him.

"Clear." Erza uttered, withdrawing her magical sword as she spoke.

"Wow… that was fast." Ichigo commented, being somewhat surprised.

"Thank you for the compliment. Now if your objective is to find Jose, then I believe it best that we head towards the control room." Erza reasoned.

"Then let's go." Ichigo said.

_**Outside of Fairy Tail's Guildhall **_

"Mira… you there?" Cana asked in a whisper.

Currently, the brown-haired woman stood outside a boarded-up hole in the guild's wall. Since the attack had begun, the Fairy Tail wizards had fought hard to stop the shades, and for the moment they were being kept at bay, but even so she needed to make sure that everything on the barmaid's end was going satisfactory.

"Yes, I'm here." Mira replied.

The voice, however, didn't quite belong to the white-haired woman, nor did the form that she currently took on. As a distraction, she had used her magic to take on Lucy's appearance while the blonde was being escorted to their guild's safe house by a fellow Fairy Tail wizard.

Still, since she couldn't change her clothing on top of this, it became necessary to stay hidden to the point that only her hair and face were partially visible, which gave the enemy the illusion that Lucy was inside the guildhall. At least that's what she hoped to accomplish by doing this.

"How much longer 'til the Abyss Break fires off?" Cana questioned.

"From the look of it… I'd say about twenty minutes at max." Mira replied.

"That really doesn't give them that much time…" Cana thought aloud, sounding somewhat worried.

"Who was sent to stop it?" Mira inquired.

Fairy Tail's former demon knew very well that one of those people was Ichigo, and one of them was Natsu. Erza was also a good pick, but not definitive as it was also entirely possible that she stayed behind to defend the guild itself, and Gray was also a likely candidate. Still, only two were practically definite.

"Two separate teams went out to different sections of their HQ. Ichigo and Erza took the western, and Happy took Natsu, Gray, and Elfman to the east." Cana explained.

"What?! Elfman went too?!" Mira shouted worriedly, her expression being one of clear concern.

"Yeah… he wanted to go." Cana replied, momentarily letting her guard down as the shades were leaving her alone for the time being.

"You know as well as I do that he can't fight!" Mira replied urgently.

"He _wanted_ to go… besides, he was one of our top fighters when we hit Phantom." Cana stated.

"Against grunts is different, but against one of Phantom's top fighters… I just don't know…" Mira trailed off.

Since the entire ordeal with Lisanna's death, it hadn't just been her who was severely inhibited. It was true that she was more so constricted than her younger brother currently was, but neither was capable of accessing their full power at the moment.

With that in mind, it was very concerning that Elfman was currently heading to face an S-Class level opponent from an enemy guild, and given that he wasn't capable of fighting at full strength, she had a right to be concerned. Mira had already lost one sibling, she desperately wanted not to lose a second.

"We all went through pain after what happened… and this is just his way of moving on. I think he needs to do this, Mira." Cana stated.

The brown-haired woman leaped back into combat, her cards drawn and prepared to be thrust towards the large amount of encircling shades. Mira, however, didn't move an inch from within the guildhall.

The barmaid just kept a solemn expression, her mind thinking back to what she could do, if anything, to help her comrades. Being this weak and powerless, it was almost impossible for her to fight directly.

However, Ichigo's words rang within Mira's head now more than ever. He had told her how he reacted to his mother's death, how terribly he was hurt, and why he protected everything precious to him.

'_And I suppose… that I'm just the same way. I can't sit back and do nothing while my friends are out their risking their lives. Even if I have to throw away my own in the process, I have to do something…_' Mira thought.

She stepped out of the guildhall and into the open daylight, revealing her morphed form directly to all of the shades and the large looming castle that currently stood directly off the coast just a few feet away from the shoreline at this point.

The barmaid's comrades looked at her out of concern, some of them pleading with her not to do whatever she seemed to be doing. Still, they were all far too preoccupied with the attacking magically-created shades to stop her despite how greatly they wanted to do so.

"Mira, what are you doing?!" Cana exclaimed.

"Leave them alone, I'm the one that you're after! I swear I'll surrender if you leave them alone and stop attacking our guild!" Mira shouted loudly, though her form and voice was still that of Phantom's target.

"_**Oh… what's this? It would appear that we have an imposter.**_" Jose mused.

Mira's eyes widened out of shock the second after this was heard. She could have sworn that none of the shades had seen her transform, and even Lucy had been transported out the back secretively. There really shouldn't have been a way for Phantom's master to be aware of her trick, and yet he was.

"_**Hahahaha! Nice trick, but you can't fool me, young lady. I knew from the start that Lucy Heartfilia wasn't here. Still… you'll have to be punished for your actions.**_" Jose stated as the barmaid's appearance once again returned to its normal state.

An instant later a magical circle appeared beneath the white-haired woman. Right from under the noses of the Fairy Tail wizards, she was absorbed into the ground, releasing nothing more than a loud scream as she did so. She reappeared within the clutches of the mechanized fortress' hands, appearing to be stuck between two of the fingers.

"_**This will be your fate, Mirajane Strauss. I shall crush you to death as you watch your friends perish!**_" Jose exclaimed with sadistic pleasure.

_**Phantom's Headquarters: With Ichigo and Erza **_

The two members of Fairy Tail stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of their primary enemy's voice. Moreover, one of their friends, and possibly the most innocent member of their guild, was currently being crushed by the mechanical abomination that was Phantom's mobile headquarters.

"Mira…" Erza muttered in a worried tone.

"Dammit, we have to do something!" Ichigo exclaimed, searching his mind for answers.

At the moment, both he and his scarlet-haired comrade were, for lack of a better word, lost. The control room of the monstrous fortress wasn't easy to located, and since knocking out the patrolling wizards when they entered they had yet to encounter any other Phantom members.

"Our only hope at this point is to reach the control room and shut down this mechanized guildhall once and for all." Erza stated.

"That's true… but we need to get there now, and I'm tired of walkin' through these halls searching for it." Ichigo thought aloud.

A moment later he drew back Zangetsu and poured his spiritual energy into the blade. The zanpakuto roared to life with light blue spiritual pressure, at which point Ichigo slashed his blade forwards in an attempt to destroy whatever he could in order to make the path to the control room as clear as was possible.

_**Outside Fairy Tail's Guildhall**_

"What do we do? We have to help her!" Wakaba exclaimed worriedly.

"Dammit… from our position I don't think we can do anything." Cana growled out.

Abruptly, however, a light blue light pierced through a section of the massive fortress and created a sizeable explosion. It was near the upper center of Phantom's HQ, and there was only one person capable of firing off something like that.

"Ichigo?" Loke muttered confusedly.

Perhaps the substitute was currently engaging a member of the Element Four, but given the timing of the attack it was more likely that he was searching for a way to prevent Mirajane's imminent demise.

Before anyone could say anything else on the matter, however, four more of the attacks sequentially pierced through separate sections near the very same location, each occurring within a few seconds after the other.

Smoke and fire, as one would expect, raged from the freshly created holes in the large mobile headquarters, but all anyone on the ground could do was smirk at the sight.

"Yup, that's him alright." Cana commented with a content smirk.

She, along with most everyone else, could tell that he was nearing the control room. The only thing that could have made this show of force better was a miraculous amount of damage being done to the gears that allow the hands to continuously clamp down on the white-haired captive.

"_**M-Master Jose, the controls to the arms and legs are no longer functioning!**_" One of the controllers shouted out of distress.

"_**What?!**_" Jose roared angrily.

"_**Y-Yes sir, t-the gears were damaged by some kind of attack on a level not far from here. I think it was that orange-haired boy.**_" The man replied.

"_**Sir, the infirmary has also sent us information on the state of our incapacitated member of the Element Four. It would appear that his injuries following the destruction of the Jupiter Cannon are more severe than we anticipated. He will be out of combat for the time being.**_" Another controller stated.

"_**That means that the Abyss Break will not have its time shortened by the addition of one of our members as we had planned.**_" A man added.

"_**Um… isn't the communication feed still going?**_" One of the men inquired confusedly.

"_**Cut the line of commination you…**_" Jose roared angrily, though the line was cut off by his likely panicked subordinates.

_**Inside Phantom's Headquarters: Control Room**_

Jose, in his fit of rage, could only slam his fist against the arms of the chair in which he currently sat. He did make a continuous growling noise, and veins quite literally popped out of his head in a very evident way, but other than that nothing really occurred for around half a minute.

"Master Jose, what are your orders?" One of the controllers asked fearfully.

"I've had enough of this orange-haired brat ruining my plans. I'm going to face these interlopers personally, and perhaps if I am lucky I will find a small challenge." Jose replied.

_**Outside Fairy Tail's Guildhall**_

Most every member of Fairy Tail laughed boisterously at this, though it was mostly due to the fact that their spirits had been lifted. It seemed that with this new information presenting itself, luck was most assuredly on their side.

"Give 'em hell you guys!" Cana shouted, raising her fist high into the air and staring on at the currently immobile monstrosity before their guild.

The Abyss Break seal had yet to vanish, but despite that none of them had any worries. With how things were going thus far, their guild would prevail, and it would be off the back of some of their guild's strongest.

_**With Mirajane**_

The white-haired woman, in the wake of the information that was just presented and the course of events that had just unfolded, could do nothing but smile to herself. She was still currently trapped, but she was no longer at risk of being crushed to death, and that was always comforting to know.

Her life, for the time being, was spared, and while she could do nothing that didn't mean that she didn't try. If anything, her life being in danger had allowed Ichigo to do what he just did, which was directly responsible to the information that Phantom had just leaked out of their own incompetence.

Perhaps that was also the result of some amazing luck, but the very second she felt Ichigo's attack rip through Phantom's guildhall, Mira knew she would be safe. She didn't know quite when she had put such faith into the orange-haired man she just knew that at some point she had.

Though her life was, indeed, saved, that wasn't the reason for Mira's bright smile in the face of what had occurred. Due to the loudspeakers, it was very likely that Ichigo knew full well what had occurred, what she had tried to do, and what she had failed to do.

Despite the fact that the barmaid knew the only word that could define her right now was 'useless', Ichigo didn't even give it a second thought before he desperately began to fire off attacks in the hopes of accomplishing something, anything in an attempt to save her.

"I guess I owe you again Ichigo… but thank you… thank you for caring that much about my worthless life." Mira said to herself, allowing several tears to fall from her eyes out of joy.

_**Inside Phantom's Headquarters: With Ichigo and Erza **_

"Dammit…" Ichigo sighed out, stabbing his zanpakuto into the ground in an attempt to stabilize himself.

"Ichigo!" Erza called out worriedly, catching the substitute's body before he could fall to even a single knee.

"I… I'm fine… I just… used my spirit energy a bit too… quickly…" Ichigo said in-between pants.

"What you just did accomplished more than I thought it would. Should you ever decide your luck isn't good enough, I will be glad to take it." Erza said jokingly, eliciting a small chuckle from the orange-haired man as a result.

"Since when do you make jokes?" Ichigo asked in a strained voice as he stood on his own two feet once again.

"Shortly after meeting you, now don't give up just yet. From what was just said, we know that we've nearly reached Jose. That means we have to keep moving." Erza stated.

"Right…" Ichigo replied.

**A/N Well, there you have it! The Phantom Lord Arc is almost over, and the next chapter will be posted next Monday! **

_**Explanations**_:

**Why not the 'Full' Hollow Form?**: By this I mean the form he took on when he fought Ulquiorra. The reason that I didn't do that, or I should say reasons were because firstly I couldn't write a way for that thing to be defeated at this stage of Fairy Tail with literally no other wizards present, opening up a huge can of worms to be frank, and secondly because this was just basic hollowfication, it wasn't a complete transformation as that would realistically entail his hollow being at peace within his soul. Ichigo wasn't aware of his existence and subconsciously blocked him out, so I guess I should say now the other form is possible. To synopsize, the main reason I didn't do it was because I wanted to not be stuck with a decision of either bring about the end of the Fairy Tail universe or drastically downplay the strength of that hollow form/make Ichigo randomly get control back after having destroyed most of the city.

**The Mask**: Still not available, but now he theoretically can get it again.

**Hollow Ichigo**: Basically he will _not_ be a maniac just trying to kill Ichigo. For those of you who do not know, he is Ichigo's true zanpakuto spirit, so a majority of their interactions will be on a basis that alludes to that.

**Why Add the Natsu + Lucy thing**: Mainly because I needed a scene change and also because I wanted to emphasize that those two characters _do_, in fact, matter. A lot of authors usually skip interactions with side characters like that, but for me I feel it's important to emphasize that Ichigo is not the only person in Fairy Tail. Granted this story is basically focused on him and his interactions, but once and a while expect some focus to shift to Natsu.

_**Reviews**_:

**Hotstreak's crossover stories**: Mainly Soul Reaper powers.

**BleachxFairyTail9121**: This is the person who wasn't afraid of the island of demons because they looked cool, after all. Also he really cares about his friends, so there's your justification xD.

**GirlFish**: Will what happen? The hollowfication? That's a secret.

**EVA-Saiyajin**: Well, you're completely wrong when you say that he came to terms with him. He literally locked the hollow away inside of his soul, that is what happened. When 'Zangetsu', meaning the old man, fought Ichigo in his younger form, he tore out the real Zangetsu/the hollow and used his power. As for him being only vaguely in character, I will just point out that this is more or less accurate for the Ichigo of this current time. He changed, _a lot_, in the period after losing his powers. At least I can pick up the changes. Idk if you also read the Bleach manga, but the hollow is also the actual Zangetsu, so I wouldn't really expect you to see Ichigo any differently than a 'hot-head'. The reason as to why he went berserk, well that was mentioned in this chapter. Basically, think of it as a very, very, very drastic means of making a phone call. As to why that was needed, I don't think I need to explain given that the inner spirit of his zanpakuto _would_ want to speak to him.

**Tracer28**: Basically, when the hollow/the real Zangetsu was ripped out of Ichigo's soul during his training to use the Final Getsuga Tenshou, that was kind of like a reset button. Timeline is after the Ginjo arc, as said in the beginning of the story.

**hornet07**: Think of it as an aggressive phone call, and as to whether or not they should be partners, I don't really think that's how it would go. Remember, Ichigo sent his hollow into the pits of his soul and allowed, who he believed, to be Zangetsu to return to his original state. Also, as to why I didn't use the other form, read the above explanation.

**Rune**: Um, I can't really say.

**Guest(1)**: I had thought of using something similar to that, but to be honest it's far simpler to just say that the hollow just wanted to alert him to his presence and given that his powers were basically hit with a reset button after the learning of the Final Getsuga Tenshou, losing his powers, and then regaining them.

**The Free-loader**: I have already come up with what I want to do for the Edolas Arc, don't worry.

**GoldZephos**: Working on it.

**Zaralann**: On the fight thing, yeah, sorta, but at the same time you have to take into consideration that in that state no one is in control and his Bankai is inactive. When he fought the vizards, it was active for the most part, and that gave him a good bit more in terms of offensive capabilities. He still demolishes Gajeel either way, but this is my justification for having him not chop the Iron Dragon Slayer in half. Dual Zangetsu will also not be in this story.

**animexxfreakxx**: Hopefully this chapter and the explations above answer your question.


	23. To Wash Away the Darkness

**A/N As promised, here is the next chapter, and it is, as you would expect, pretty long. Anyway, next chapter will be posted next Monday due to my exams, so until then enjoy!**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 23 **

"What you just did accomplished more than I thought it would. Should you ever decide your luck isn't good enough, I will be glad to take it." Erza said jokingly, eliciting a small chuckle from the orange-haired man as a result.

"Since when do you make jokes?" Ichigo asked in a strained voice as he stood on his own two feet once again.

"Shortly after meeting you, now don't give up just yet. From what was just said, we know that we've nearly reached Jose. That means we have to keep moving." Erza stated.

"Right…" Ichigo replied.

_**Inside Phantom's Headquarters: With Gray**_

The Ice-Make wizard had thus far been completely unsuccessful in locating a member of the Element Four to fight. Moreover, he hadn't even encountered any grunts along the way to do so. It wasn't necessarily that he had wanted random people to block his way, but anything was better than the current boredom he currently felt.

To make matters worse, there had been abrupt shaking just moments ago nearby, the cause of which he knew to be Ichigo's incredibly potent energy-based attack that had destroyed Lullaby. That told him that he was actually quite close to the control room, which also meant that he himself was running out of places to look.

It was possible that the remaining three members of the Element Four were currently in the control room alongside Jose, but that didn't make sense given that the one member who had been take out, albeit in a lucky fashion, was guarding the Jupiter cannon's power source.

Perhaps he was just unlucky, or perhaps Phantom's elite were really just that evasive. Needless to say, the innumerable number of things he had to consider when all he wanted was a fight were currently aggravating him a great deal.

"To hell with this!" Gray exclaimed, grabbing the nearest stone debris that was caused by Ichigo's previous attacks.

The raven-haired teen chucked the sizeable stone upwards at the ceiling, shattering one of the four glass windows in the process. Finding nothing else worth his time of pursuit, he then opted to jump up and latch onto the roof, at which point be began to climb up in the hopes of finding something, anything to fight at this point.

When he finally got his footing on the roof and observed his surroundings, he noticed something incredibly odd. The skies were now gloomy, and rain had started to fall from the clouds. That, to him, was odd due to the fact that there hadn't been any previous signs of rain beforehand. Even if they were currently under attack and fighting for their lives, the weather still hadn't previously been reflecting the gloomy situation.

"That's weird… when did it start raining?" Gray wondered aloud.

"Drip, drip, drop…" A feminine voice called out from behind him.

At the sound of the soft-sounding voice, Gray turned to face the assumed woman who was currently approaching him. When he did so, his eyes were indeed met with the form of a woman, and an oddly dressed one at that.

The woman was young and possessed a slender figure, sporting blue hair that was tightly curled at the base and a pair of dark blue eyes. She wore a navy blue coat, a fur shawl and a Russian Cossack hat. Her appearance was completed with a large pink umbrella she currently used to keep the water off of her clothing.

"Hello… my name is Juvia and I am the rain woman of the Element Four… drip, drip, drop." The woman said as she continued to move closer to her soon-to-be opponent.

At this, the black-haired teen's previously blank expression became one of determination. The fight he was about to wage was even more important now than when he had initially landed on the fortress, mainly due to the fact that the Abyss Break was currently being powered by each remaining member of the Element Four. In order to save his guild, he had to defeat her here and now.

"So you're one of them, huh? Well bring it on…" Gray challenged.

"I must say, I'm impressed by the fact that your guild has fought as well as it has. Even now they are nearing the control room of our headquarters. However… we are not to be underestimated." Juvia said warningly.

"Listen lady, if you're lookin' for a fight, I'll give you one… but I'm not gonna hold back just cuz' you're a chick." Gray stated seriously.

The two wizards didn't say a thing for a few moments, each just staring into the others eyes with a determined look in their own. With the stakes so high, this conflict would likely be the tipping point in the scales of battle, so neither was very capable of giving an inch, or so Gray had thought.

"W-Well then… I give up. You win, goodbye!" Juvia said as she turned her heel and began to walk away, a blush on her face that the ice make user could not currently see.

At this, Gray stumbled in place, nearly falling over flat on his face at the reaction of his supposed opponent. Not only was this entirely out of the realm of what he believed to be possible, it also took away a perceivably good fight away from him.

"What're you doin'?! Come back and fight me!" Gray exclaimed, a look of pure confusion mixed with anger present on his face.

"There's something wrong with me… why is my heart beating so fast?" Juvia wondered aloud, speaking quietly enough so that her opponent wouldn't hear her.

"Would you at least tell me how to shut down the Abyss Break without beating you?!" Gray called out, urgently running after the blue-haired woman.

"I don't know what's going on… but I have the strongest urge to make him mine, I just can't help myself anymore. Water Lock!" Juvia exclaimed, turning and extending her right hands towards the black-haired teen.

Gray was completely engulfed in a large floating sphere of water that acted as an essential prison. Not only could he not breath, he had also been helpless to stop it since he wasn't prepared in the slightest.

The water magic user's essentially 'sneak attack' completely caught her opponent off guard, as evident by the fact that he began to struggle. At this, Juvia began to panic a great deal given that she hadn't actually meant to hurt him in the first place.

"Oh no! I didn't know he was injured, so what do I do?!" Juvia wondered aloud in a panicked tone.

Before she had a chance to pass out due to hyperventilation, the sphere of water turned into ice before shattering around the black-haired teen an instant later. With the shards of what was formerly Juvia's Water Lock falling to the ground, the blue-haired woman could do nothing but stare at her opponent with wanting eyes and a large blush on her cheeks.

"He must be an ice wizard if he can turn my Water Lock into solid Ice. I've never witnessed ice magic before… it's beautiful!" Juvia thought aloud.

She began to go into a dazed state, in which all she thought about was herself being in the company of this black-haired man she had just met a short minute ago. Still, Gray wasn't in the state of mind to notice this as he was too busy recovering from what he perceived as a dirty trick.

"You almost had me with that sneak attack you pulled… you're playin' dirty." Gray stated.

At the exact same time this was said, he had begun to, intentionally, take off his shirt in order to allow himself more mobility and to examine the state of his wounds. The blue-haired teen, at the sight of this, almost passed out with hearts showing in her eyes.

"I really don't want to fight a girl but I will if I have to, so ya better surrender otherwise I'm gonna have to hurt ya." Gray said warning, bringing his hands back in preparations for an attack.

"Ice Make Lance!" Gray exclaimed.

A series of pointed ice-forged lances then shot directly towards the water magic user, at which point Gray fully expected her to dodge. To his surprise, however, she did no such thing and, in fact, made no move whatsoever.

The iced lances pierced her body, but all they did was go completely through it, doing little else aside from causing small splashes of water to erupt from the locations the attack shot through.

'_What the hell?_' Gray wondered confusedly.

"My body is made entirely of water… so no matter what you do, you cannot beat me. Even if my love is on another side, I cannot hesitate for the time being." Juvia stated.

Gray happened to be astronomically confused by the second part of that sentence, but he paid it no mind given that all of his mental ability needed to be allocated to finding out how to actually fight this woman. At the very least he had gotten the fight he desired, but he just hoped it wouldn't wind up backfiring on him.

_**Inside Phantom's Headquarters: With Elfman **_

The youngest living member of the Strauss siblings currently wandered the halls of Phantom's headquarters in search of the section directly in front of where the arms were currently clamping around his sister.

He had previously been searching for the remaining members of the Element Four, but the second that he realized his sister was in danger and that one of the enemy wizards was out of commission, the choice to take a different course of action was very obvious.

Upon looking out a window and seeing where the hands were foremost located, also knowing that they were now incapable of moving, thanks to Ichigo, he raced towards the area from which he knew he would be able to free his sister.

"I'm almost there… hold on big sis!" Elfman shouted as he continued to run through the hallways.

A moment later he heard the quiet chuckle of a man from behind him, at which point he turned to see who his assumed pursuer was. He was greeted with the sight of a man literally sprouting forth from one of the stone bricks that lined the ground. Actually, it appeared that the man was disguised as one.

"Salut." The man greeted, tilting his head, and a portion of his upper body, sideways as he did so.

The wizard that had made his presence known was a slim man if average height with green hair that pointed upwards, black eyes, and a pointed moustache. He wore a brown suit with six prominent protrusions jutting out of the collar, beneath which was a white collared undershirt which sported an accompanying red tie. His eccentric attire was complete with a monocle that covered his right eye, and a small cape that was attached to both of his elbows rather than his back.

"So… you're one of the Element Four…" Elfman guessed, taking his overcoat off in order to allow himself more flexibility for the upcoming fight.

His sister currently needed his help, but even so there was not a chance in hell that this oddly-dressed man was going to let him rescue her with ease. As a result, his best course of action at the moment was to deal with the enemy wizard quickly and as efficiently as he could, after which he would rush onward to save his elder sibling.

"Oui, and you may call me Monsieur Sol, at your service." The man replied, giving a small bow.

"Black Ball." Elfman uttered, giving his right arm the appearance of a beat's limb.

He obviously didn't want to waste any time getting to this fight, but his opponent was intent to talk on and on as it seemed to be his style.

"What's this, only your right arm can transform? Perhaps the rumors about you are true…" Sol reasoned.

The white-haired man instantly shot towards his opponent and smashed his fist into the ground on which the wizard had previously stood. Naturally the man had opted to dodge as opposed to taking the attack head on, but even so he wasn't deterred from speaking in the slightest.

"You have a younger sister… non?" Sol asked with a sickening smirk etched across his lips.

_**Inside Phantom's Headquarters: With Natsu **_

"Son of a… where the hell is that Iron Dragon Slayer?!" Natsu shouted angrily, slamming his fist into a nearby wall out of sheer frustration.

Perhaps had the pink-haired teen opted to search for another opponent he would be a good deal less bored right now. The only time he had considered deviating from his current objective was when he had heared that Mira was in danger, but a split second after that he found out that Ichigo had opted to basically save her life.

He also figured Elfman would be trying to directly get her out of the clutches of the fortress' arms, so that gave him all the freedom he wanted to seek out and challenge Phantom's dragon slayer. Thus far, however, he had not gotten any luck.

"You can't just try to smell him?" Happy inquired confusedly.

"You don't think I've tried that? Every time I try to sniff him out, I get nothin'." Natsu replied as he and his best friend continued to run through the halls.

"Well when was the last time you tried?" Happy asked.

The Fire Dragon Slayer stopped dead in his tracks and began to scratch his chin in thought. At the moment he actually couldn't quite remember the last time he had tried, which almost made him want to smack his head given that this was something he really should have been constantly making the attempt to do.

"Um… I dunno…" Natsu replied.

"Then don't you think now would be a good time?" Happy said smugly, crossing his arms and donning a superior smirk.

"Shut up! Fine, I'll check." Natsu replied.

He began to search the nearby area for the Iron Dragon Slayer, focusing everything on his senses and concentrating as best as he could. Much to his immediate joy, he found the scent that he recognized as Gajeel's, which was fortunately not too far off.

However, that sense of joy turned into one of dread the second after he smelled another familiar presence in the very same room. As impossible as it seemed to be, Lucy was currently within Phantom's headquarters, and evidently in the possession of the enemy's most powerful fighter outside of their guild's master.

"Crap!" Natsu exclaimed before he began running off as quickly as he could.

Happy didn't even get the chance to ask what was going on before he found it necessary to race after his best friend, though he couldn't for the life of him figure out why Natsu was running off so urgently.

_**Inside Phantom's Headquarters: With Ichigo and Erza **_

The two strongest on hand fighters of Fairy Tail had finally made their way into the final stretches of the monstrous fortress that lead towards the control room. With that in mind, it also meant that the enemy leader was just within their reach.

Immediately at their front was a long red carpet with golden linings that led towards the uppermost point of the castle. Though this was indeed where they desired to be, an individual stood at the very center of the room with a clear intent to bar their way.

"I am sorry to inform you, but this is as far as you go." The man stated.

"You… I remember you… you're the one who took out the old man." Ichigo growled out, a glare firmly fixed on the man's body.

The top three people who had royally pissed him off from Phantom were Jose holding the number one spot, for obvious reasons, Gajeel at the second, and the man immediately in front of him at a very clear-cut third position.

"I am Aria of the Element Four, and I took no joy in attacking a great wizard such as your guild's master…" He replied, though tears began to randomly stream out from behind his blindfold for some reason.

"Tch, cry all you want, but I'm still gonna beat the hell out of you." Ichigo stated.

The orange-haired teen made to grab the hilt of his zanpakuto, but an armored hand firmly grabbing his shoulder gave him pause. He then turned to see Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard giving sending him a determined look, which confused him for a moment.

"I believe it best if you go and confront Jose. Allow me to deal with this pathetic excuse for a wizard and avenge Master Makarov." Erza said sternly.

Ichigo gave the scarlet-haired knight a small smirk before nodding his head in understanding. While he did want to beat this man half to death for hurting a man that had done quite a bit for him, Erza was more than capable of doing it in his stead. In fact, she may have even been able to do it quicker if she happened to be enraged enough.

"Alright… I'll leave it to you." Ichigo replied.

"Sorry, but don't think that you can get past me so eas…" Aria began, only to stop at the feeling of a foot coming into contact with his back.

The stout blindfolded man shot forward and skidded across the long rug that lead to the control room, his face taking the brunt of the damage given that said part of his body was the first to hit the ground.

Erza scowled slightly upon seeing Ichigo directly behind where the enemy wizard had recently stood, obviously not being too happy that the man had harmed her opponent. It may not have been a big deal, but if she was kind enough to allow him to fight Jose than he may as well have let her take down her own opponent.

"Sorry, couldn't resist." Ichigo said with a small smirk.

At this, the redheaded teen took on a small smile before shaking her head in an amused fashion. Any good mood the two had previously been showing, however, vanished upon the sound of a very particular voice sounding off.

"My, my, now that was an interesting technique you did just now. Perhaps that is how you were able to reach our fortress without being seen." Jose mused as he approached from the end of the hallway.

Both Ichigo and Erza turned to see that Phantom's guild master stood in place, a content grin on his face as he stared down the Fairy Tail wizards. His attire had changed from his previously governmental attire to clothing more suited for open combat.

Now he currently wore a long, blue coat with a black belt tied around his waist. A brownish cape was covering his upper left shoulder, his Wizard Saint's medallion was tied around his neck, and his hair was styled in a ponytail that was shown at this point due to his lack of wearing a hat.

"You…" Ichigo growled out, a look of pure anger etched on his face.

"And you've brought Titania Erza with you as well. Were you thinking that perhaps the two of you could take me down together?" Jose asked in an amused voice.

'_That's Jose Porla… Phantom's guild master. With him here, that would mean that the enemy is on their last legs._' Erza thought.

"Well if that was your plan then I must commend you for your effort. However, it was very optimistic of you to think that you wouldn't become separated somewhere along the way of coming to face me. Now it appears that it will just be a one on one." Jose continued.

"Master Jose, there is no need to intervene. I am more than capable of fighting these two in your stead." Aria assured.

"Now, now, Aria, there is no need to take offense to my presence. I have complete faith in your abilities, but I merely desire to teach this orange-haired Fairy Tail brat a lesson." Jose said with a sadistic voice at the mentioning of the teen immediately in front of him.

"And I want to teach you a lesson about messing with Fairy Tail. I'll tell you right now that I have no intention of letting you get away with harming my friends!" Ichigo exclaimed, drawing his zanpakuto with intimidating speeds as he did so.

"Hehe… you're a rather amusing fellow. What's your name, boy?" Jose questioned, his cocky grin never fading.

"The name's Ichigo Kurosaki, scumbag." Ichigo replied in a tone that possessed a noticeable edge.

"Well, Ichigo Kurosaki, I must once again commend you, though this time for your bravery. However, you are once again being rather optimistic if you believe your powers are substantial enough to face me alone. After all the energy you've poured forth stopping the Jupiter cannon and then assaulting our headquarters, there isn't a chance that you possess enough left to put up a fight." Jose sneered.

In response, Ichigo didn't so much as move a muscle. He very clearly wasn't deterred by what his opponent thought to be true, but a certain scarlet-haired woman on the opposite side of the room had no such luxury.

She did know very well that the otherworldly Fairy Tail member was by no means a pushover and possessed a vast reserve of what he would refer to as 'spiritual pressure'. Even so, after using so much power thus far, it wasn't entirely ludicrous to consider that maybe he was running on a clock, and having a time limit when going up against one of the ten Wizard Saints was definitely cause for concern.

"That's an interesting theory, care to put it to the test?" Ichigo taunted.

"So you do have some fight in you after all. That's fantastic because otherwise this would be dreadfully boring." Jose thought aloud.

"Master Jose, I shall ensure that your battle meets no interference." Aria stated firmly, stepping directly between the redheaded teen and her comrade.

"Thank you Aria, your efforts are most appreciated." Jose replied.

"If we're going to fight, then I guess I should change the scenery." Ichigo mused.

A moment later the substitute stabbed the tip of Zangetsu into the stone floor of the room, piercing through the red carpet as he did so. Most were confused by this, but shortly thereafter the reason was revealed. The large cleaver-like blade began to glow with light blue energy, a signal that let everyone present know what he intended to do.

"I'll leave that clown to you, Erza. Sorry if he isn't anywhere near the challenge you deserve." Ichigo said.

Immediately after this, the large amount of built up spiritual pressure from within his zanpakuto poured forth and destroyed a large portion of the floor on the latter portion of the room.

The end result was for both Jose and Ichigo to fall to the underlying level which successfully gave the wind magic user and Erza a room all to themselves. Well, half of it had no floor, but even so it was currently a one on one battle with no interference.

'_I'd appreciate a little bit more of a heads up, but I suppose given the circumstances I can tolerate such things… just this once._' Erza thought before calling forth a magical sword.

"There is anger in your blade… and it makes me so sad!" Aria wailed, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Cry all you want, that will not change the outcome of this battle. Allow me to crush you for Fairy Tail!" Erza shouted before charging forth.

_**Inside Phantom's Headquarters: With Ichigo and Jose**_

Both combatants landed on their feet without any trouble, despite the fact that the orange-haired teen's recent attack had wiped out the floor for around three levels of the structure. Needless to say, they were currently by themselves, just as was the intent.

"Was that the same attack you used to take out the Jupiter cannon? It seems to have lost a bit of its bite." Jose pointed out cockily.

"Why don't you shut your trap and fight? Nothing you say at this point will stop me from beating the living hell out of you, so you may as well take your beating like a man." Ichigo taunted.

"Then come at me Fairy Tail brat!" Jose shouted with a sadistic grin etched on his face, appearing as if he wanted nothing more than for this fight to begin.

_**Inside Phantom's Guildhall: With Lucy**_

The blonde-haired celestial spirit mage was currently in a condition that could only be described as horrid. Her body was bruised and beaten, and even as she was clinging to the ground with her hands and knees, her captor had refused to let up.

Her current location was what appeared to be a boiler room, and as to how she got here was actually quite simple. Despite Fairy Tail's best efforts, the Iron Dragon Slayer had chased after her, entered the storage house, beaten her mercilessly, and then brought her back by force.

The wizard that had been with her, as well as Loke, had been severely injured, or so she imagined, and even now she was afraid that with her being captive Phantom no longer had any need to hold back. Her friends' lives were not in an ever greater danger, and she was helpless to stop it.

"I still can't believe he's doin' this… he gets to have all the fun while all I get to do is watch over blondie here." Gajeel complained.

"Yeah, but are you sure you should be beatin' her up that badly? The master said she wasn't supposed to be hurt or nothin'." One of the Phantom members stated.

His words were met with an extended iron club flying directly into his face in a merciless fashion. The wizard then fell backwards, unconscious, as his comrades only watched with a small sense of fear at the dragon slayers rage.

"Shut up. I know master thinks she's important but she's just a piece of fairy scum to me." Gajeel sneered.

"Seriously man, let it go." A man stated as firmly as he could.

"Master's gonan freak…" The only female wizard present outside of their prisoner thought aloud.

"Then I'll just tell him it was all your idea." Gajeel stated with a chuckle.

"Not cool man!" He exclaimed.

"Whatever, just sit back and shut up." Gajeel barked.

"Geez you're dumb…" Lucy's strained voice cut in, effectively shocking everyone present.

The blonde-haired woman picked herself off the ground and looked directly at the Iron Dragon Slayer, her eyes devoid of fear and her body clearly weakened. Despite that fact, however, she fought to stay standing.

"You're so dumb… that I… I actually feel sorry for you." Lucy continued, her voice very low as a result of her injuries.

"No way…" One of the men said out of shock.

"She's takin' smack to Gajeel…" Another commented.

"You know you really shouldn't have said that…" Gajeel said, a small smirk present on his face.

Without warning he morphed his arm into an iron club and shot it directly into the female wizard's gut, sending her flying back into a wall so hard that her body smashed the stone bricks on contact.

"Not so tough now, are ya?" Gajeel scoffed, retracting his morphed hand and allowing the blonde's body to hit the floor once again.

"Like I said… you're really dumb… especially if you think Phantom will get away with this." Lucy continued, actually impressing most everyone present with her clear willpower.

"Well who's gonna stop us?" Gajeel sneered.

A moment later he lifted up his right hand, forming an Iron Dragon's Club with it before he leaped directly towards the currently immobile form of the blonde celestial wizard. About half-way towards his target, however, the floor beneath his body smashed open.

Out of the freshly created hole in the floor, a very angry pink-haired dragon slayer shot forth, his fist instantly making contact with Gajeel's face and effectively sending Phantom's dragon slayer flying backwards with a hand lightly touching his cheek.

"Salamander…" Gajeel trailed off, a smirk of anticipation etched on his face.

Truth be told he wanted to go into combat with the orange-haired sword wielder that smacked him down with some kind of weird magic, but taking down Fairy Tail's Salamander was a close second on the list of things he wanted to do today.

"Gajeel!" Natsu roared, fire engulfing his body and a large amount of the air around him.

"Natsu…" Lucy trailed off with a warm smile on her face.

"I'm takin' you down Gajeel!" Natsu exclaimed, fire still raging around his being as he did so.

At this, the Iron Dragon slayer smirked, shortly after which he picked himself up off of his knees and readied his fists. The new arrival was clearly looking for a fight, and Gajeel was going to give him one.

"Bring it one, Salamander!" Gajeel roared before the two charged at each other.

_**Inside Phantom's Guildhall: With Elfman**_

"Dammit…" Elfman swore under his breath, obviously discontent with his current position.

Currently, the earth magic user of the Element Four had bested him, broken his will to fight and effectively drained him of any sense of determination he had previously been in possession of.

Everything the man had said about his sister, the painful memories that the earth-formed images had brought up, all of these things drained him of his strength, but they hadn't drained him of his willpower.

No, that was accomplished by one simple thing, and that was the enemy wizard smashing open a nearby wall section and revealing to him the helpless form of his sister being restricted by the still nonoperational hands of Phantom's mechanized headquarters.

Elfman tried his best, but, each and every time he had tried to go near his elder sister, his opponent would prevent him from making any significant progress. In fact, he had outright threatened to hurt her and he couldn't even force him back. He never really did, but the end result was a psychological beat down.

The end result was the white-haired man going to his hands and knees, doing nothing but sobbing lightly with his eyes looking at the ground in the wake of his pained mental state. Not even the cries of his older sister could snap him out of it, but that was Sol's intent the entire time.

"What is the matter Monsieur Elfman, can you not bear to see your sister in such a state? Or perhaps it is that you cannot do anything to save her?" Sol said in a taunting manner.

"Stop… please… I'm begging you…" Elfman pleaded quietly.

"Oh, what's this?" Sol wondered aloud in an amused tone.

"Please… let her go and take my life instead… I can't let her die… I can't let my sister die… not again…" Elfman said, tears streaming down his cheeks as he slammed his fists into the ground.

"Do you want me to put you out of your misery, Monsieur Elfman? Do you want me to kill you like the beast you are?" Sol asked.

"Elfman, snap out of it! Don't listen to what he's saying!" Mira shouted at the top of her lungs from her position outside the large hole the man had created in the wall of the fortress.

"Sorry big sis… but I can't… I can't fight anymore…" Elfman sobbed out, staring at his sister hopelessly with tears in his eyes.

Mira looked at her brother and nearly felt tears come to her own eyes, but before even a single drop of water could fall down her cheeks, a rather loud explosion sounded off from the back of the room and grabbed her attention.

The battle and mental warfare seemed to stop for the moment as everyone looked back to see a man clad in blue slamming into the leftmost portion of the room, having already shot directly through the opposite wall.

"You little brat…" Jose growled out from his position on the ground.

"I told you not to talk and to just take your beating, didn't I?" Ichigo taunted, resting his zanpakuto across his shoulders as his opponent seemed to continuously lie down in the rubble.

"Master Jose, what is going on?!" Sol exclaimed worriedly.

"Nothing I can't handle… for now just finish what you started. That man looks like he needs to be put down." Jose mused, his sadistic smirk returning in full force as he picked himself up.

It was at this point that Ichigo turned and noticed the situation. He saw Elfman on his hands and knees before his opponent and Mira still being captured by the large mechanical hands of Phantom's headquarters. At this, he almost completely forgot about his opponent and made to address something he perceived as more immediately important.

"Just what the hell are you doing Elfman?!" Ichigo shouted, sounding somewhat angry as he addressed the youngest of the Strauss siblings.

"W-What?" Elfman uttered confusedly, being clearly surprised by the tone that his comrade was using. In actuality even his elder sister was surprised by the substitute's tone and choice of words.

"You would do well not to speak to someone who is so useless my orange-haired friend. You see, Monsieur Elfman has come to terms with his weakness and wishes for his life to be taken like the beast he is." Sol stated matter-of-factly.

"The hell he does! Elfman, tell me right now what the hell you let this clown do to you!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Clown?!" Sol shouted indignantly.

The white-haired man didn't do or say anything for the time being, all he could do was stare blankly at the angry look in Ichigo's eyes. It was like they were digging deep down into his body and pulling his soul out from the depths of his own mental despair. He could quite explain how it was possible, and he likely never would be able to.

Mira, however, began to understand just a little bit of what was currently happening. The fact that her brother wasn't currently sulking anymore and that he appeared to be snapping back into reality showed her that, if anything, what Ichigo was currently doing was meant to be helpful.

"This is about Lisanna, isn't it?" Ichigo inquired, immediately after which the muscular man's eyes widened significantly.

"I-I… I…" Elfman stuttered, failing to find words at this point in time.

"Let me guess. You blame yourself for what happened, don't you? You think that just because you lost control that everything is your fault, that you're a monster, is that it?!" Ichigo exclaimed, his eyes still staring deep into those of his comrade's.

"It isn't just that… it's that… I'm a coward! I'm not a man at all! I've been running away from what I've done, trying to tell myself that it wasn't my fault, but I just can't do it anymore. Even right now I'm not using my full powers because I'm afraid. So what good am I?" Elfman exclaimed.

"You think you're a coward because you're running away from the blame? That's the furthest thing from the truth! The thing that did that to your sister wasn't you, and you know that! You lived to protect your sister, to protect Fairy Tail, and you've been doing that ever since you joined, haven't you?!" Ichigo shot back.

"B-But… it was me… I can't deny that… that what I did makes me a monster…" Elfman stated in a low voice.

"That's a load of crap and you know it! Someone who cares as much as you do about their family, about their friends, can't be a monster. Someone who protects what they love is the furthest thing from a mindless beast, and if you think losing control of your powers makes you one than I guess that makes you and me one and the same!" Ichigo shouted.

A silence coated the air for a brief period of time, most everyone just staring at the look present in the eyes of the Substitute Soul Reaper. What he just said came directly from his soul, and the words themselves held a power to them that couldn't be denied. The simple sight of it was spectacular, captivating even.

"I am sorry to disappoint you mon ami, but I am afraid Monsieur Elfman has fallen too far into his own despair." Sol stated.

"You wish…" Ichigo scoffed, a superior smirk making its way onto his features as he spoke.

The brown-clad man adopted a confused expression, after which he looked back at the form of his opponent and released a small gasp of surprise. Elfman had summoned the force of will to pick himself up off the ground, despite all of the mental berating that Sol had attempted. Moreover, his aura had changed to one of an even denser and greater power than he had possessed before and during his fight with the enemy wizard.

'_This cannot possibly be!_' Sol thought worriedly.

"He's right… I can't give up now, not when everyone is depending on me. If I let down my friends, then that's what would make me a real monster." Elfman stated.

A large amount of magical energy encircled his body, after which the very ground beneath his feet began to crack. At this, Mira's eyes widened significantly due to her knowledge of what was about to happen. Her brother, who hadn't even used more than a partial transformation in almost three entire years, was about to take on the soul of a creature that he had feared since his capturing of it.

"Beast Soul!" Elfman exclaimed.

Just a moment later his entire body was engulfed in a bright light, after which his entire appearance changed. Ichigo knew this appearance to be that of The Beast, the creature that had caused him to lose control and subsequently bring the life of his own sister to an end.

"_Graaaaaaaa_!" Elfman roared.

"I-It cannot be, a Beast Soul?!" Sol exclaimed fearfully, sweat dripping from his brow.

At first, Ichigo had been somewhat worried due to the sight of the man's bestial appearance, but immediately after that savage roar sounded off he knew there was nothing to worry about. The reason was simple, and that reason was because the moment after this occurred Elfman looked at him directly with what appeared to be a small smile, his eyes having a human feel to them.

"T-Th-This is all just a big misunderstanding!" Sol pleaded, waving his hands up in the air defensively.

It took about a collective three seconds for the massive creature to smash Sol into nearby wall with the full force of an incoming train. Ichigo could do nothing but form a content smile upon seeing this happen, mostly because that was not just one, but two of the Strauss siblings that he had managed to help get over a dark time in their lives, to a degree at least.

Mira watched as her brother, still within his altered form, jump onto the mechanical hands and tear apart the fingers in order to free her. She was then carried back to solid ground, a bright smile etched on her face all the while though it wasn't as a result of her brother's victory or her current healthy state of being.

"Elfman…" Mira said with tears forming in her eyes.

Her younger brother then did away with his Beast Soul and took on his normal appearance minus the overcoat he had tossed aside before his fight. He instantly hugged his sister as if it were the last time they would see each other, tears streaming down his own face as he did so.

"I did it… big sis… I did it…" Elfman sobbed out.

Since the day he had believed himself to have murdered his own sister, he had never once used or accessed the power of his Beast Soul. The reasons for that were obvious, but after having actually used it successfully, a great deal of joy filled his entire being. He now felt that he was free, that a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and there wasn't a more convenient time for this to occur given that it was when he needed his full power most.

"I knew you had it in you…" Ichigo called out.

The two siblings turned to face the orange-haired man that they both owed a great deal to, a genuine and grateful smile present on each of their faces. They separated from their hug a moment later, after which Elfman took several steps forward and looked at him dead in the eyes, though this time his own no longer possessed a look of despair.

"Thanks, I owe you one." Elfman said, chuckling slightly as he spoke.

"You don't owe me anything. I just told you what you needed to hear and I know you'd do the same for me." Ichigo replied.

The look shared between the two men was one of understanding, and Elfman nodded at the words of his comrade to further illustrate this point. The look in the eyes of Mira, however, was entirely different, though Ichigo didn't seem to notice given that his focus was currently on her younger sibling.

'_Ichigo… I'll bet you don't even realize how good of a person you are, do you?_' Mira thought amusedly.

In all of her years of living she had never encountered a man, even a person, remotely similar to Ichigo Kurosaki. He seemed to possess the fighting skills of a powerful warrior, the intellect of someone as wise as the master, the caring heart of Natsu, the determination of Erza, and the love of Fairy Tail that she herself cherished so closely. If ever there was a word that she would use to describe him within her own heart, it would be 'perfect'.

Mira's heartfelt moment, however, was cut short upon seeing that Phantom's guild master made a move to position himself at the far end of the room, his arm held out at his side giving off the clear intent to attack.

"Look out Ichigo!" Mira exclaimed worriedly.

Jose brought his arm out across his front, sending a large explosion over the path that his hand took, though it was located at the exact distance away that his opponent was located.

Ichigo carelessly jumped into the air and evaded the attack, after which he turned to face the dark red-haired man with a scowl on his lips and his eyes fixed in a glare. He already had enough of a reason to want to kick his ass, but now he just got even more motivation.

"Well now that was truly a heartfelt moment and I am impressed that you were able to bring that man over there out of his own despair. Still, you foolishly gave me time to gather my magical energy in preparation for an attack that is more than enough to wipe you all out!" Jose stated.

"Tch…" Ichigo scoffed.

"Dead Wave!" Jose exclaimed.

The enemy's leader then extended his right hand and gathered a large sphere of purple magical energy within its palm. A moment later the sphere reached its maximum amount of energy, as indicated by its rather evident increase in size, after which it fired off in a massive wave of destruction.

Mira and Elfman watched with worried expressions as the orange-haired teen refused to move out of the magical energies path, and in fact the former wanted to scream in order to beg him to move. However, what happened next shocked both them, as well as Jose, to their core.

Ichigo extended his free left hand just as the purple energy wave was nearing his body, after which the attack seemed to just scatter off to his sides. The large wave of power shot into the surrounding walls, and even decimated large portions of the building to the substitute's left and right, but his hand held firm.

As a result of this, there was a very clear safe zone once the attack had vanished, and all three of the Fairy Tail wizards were within it. In the aftermath of his own Death Wave, Jose just continued to stare into the hardened eyes of his opponent, the remnants of the magical energy the attack had contained dissipating in front of the man's body.

'_He blocked that attack with his bare hand?!_' Mira thought, her eyes nearly shooting out of her head at the sight.

What had just occurred was viewed as an impossibility, and the only people who should have been capable of doing so were those on the same level or above that of the Ten Wizard Saints. However, this boy wasn't even S-Class, yet he still managed to do something and make it seem as if it took him very little effort. In fact, it was so perceivably impossible that he was unable to keep the expression of sheer shock from coming onto his features.

"Impossible…" Jose muttered, seemingly incapable of stopping himself from doing so.

"Did it really catch you off guard that much? Yes, I did stop your attack with my hand just now… does that scare you, that something you can't comprehend or stop happened right before your eyes?" Ichigo taunted, allowing his hand to rest at his side once more.

"Don't get cocky…" Jose said warning, slight amounts of sweat dripping from his brow as he spoke.

"I notice you didn't answer my question… oh well, guess that doesn't really matter." Ichigo stated.

A moment later he used flash step to appeared directly on front of his opponent, after which he grabbed Jose's face within the palm of his hand and threw him with incredible force. If he had one regret about his method of attack, it was that he didn't get to see the likely flabbergasted expression on the Wizard Saint's face as he shot through another series of wall.

"You two find the others and make sure they're alright. I can feel that Natsu is fighting right now, so is Erza, but I'm not feeling anything from Gray's fight so I suggest you check on him." Ichigo said before leaping through the nearest hole that his opponent's body had created.

"Well… looks like we at least know what we should be doin'." Elfman mused.

"Come on Elfman, let's go find Gray. I can't feel his magic energy either, but last I could tell he was on the roof." Mira said.

"Right." Elfman replied, giving his elder sibling a small nod of his head before the two went off to find the nearest point of entry.

_**Rooftop of Phantom's Headquarters: With Gray**_

The fight between the two powerful wizards of water and ice magic respectively had been a virtual rollercoaster in terms of intensity. That, however, was almost entirely due to the self-proclaimed Rain Woman going through several different emotional states in rapid succession.

Right now, on the other hand, her emotions were very clear within her own mind, and that was for one reason. When she had been about to fall off the rooftop to what she presumed to be her demise, her hand was caught by none other than the man she had previously tried to kill.

Currently, the blue-haired woman just lay down on the roof at the side of her savior, a small blush on her cheeks as she did so. It seemed, though, that she was completely incapable of fighting at the moment, which meant that Gray had at the very least been declared the winner.

'_He… he saved me…_' Juvia thought.

"You good? Startin' to cool down a bit?" Gray inquired in a soft voice, giving the blue-haired wizard a friendly smile as he looked down on her currently immobile body.

Juvia felt tears come into her eyes at the sight of the black-haired man, her emotions almost overcoming her at this point. However, before she could say anything, a bright light beamed down from the sky and caused her eyes to clamp shut due to the abruptness of the sun's presence.

"So bright… the rain, it stopped…" Juvia said quietly, almost as if it was to herself.

"Hey look, sun's finally coming out." Gray observed cheerfully.

"The blue sky… I've never… seen it before…" Juvia said in an awestruck tone, her eyes just staring directly at the bright blue skies that had taken the place of the gloomy clouds she was accustomed to.

"Seriously? Heh… well there ya go. It's pretty, don't you think?" Gray asked in a friendly manner.

"It is… it's truly… beautiful." Juvia stated in an honest and affectionate voice.

It didn't seem as if the man she had recently been fighting understood that she no longer had the desire to do so. That became rather evident a moment later after the raven-haired man asked but a single question that caused more of a misunderstanding than he likely realized.

"So… you wanna go at it?" Gray asked with a small smirk.

"GWOOOOO!" Juvia squealed girlishly, after which her face went bright red and she seemed to pass out with an odd smile etched across her face.

Since he did not fully understand this reaction due to his own density, the ice make wizard leaded over Juvia's body and began to examine it in a worried fashion, obviously believing that something had just happened to her that shouldn't have.

"Hey, what's the matter?! Are you alright?! Talk to me Juvia, come on!" Gray exclaimed worriedly.

The black-haired teen just continued to observe the water magic user carefully in an attempt to figure out a way to wake her up, or at least confirm that she was in good health. He, however, was interrupted from his current task upon a loud explosion sounding off from a nearby section of the room.

Gray looked over to see the form of Phantom's guild master flying into the air with his hand extended towards a fresh hole in the room, a ball of purple magical energy spiraling to life within his open outstretched palm.

"Dead Wave!" Jose exclaimed.

The large mass of magical energy shot into the hole of the roof, causing a massive explosion within the room on the other end but clearly missing its intended target. The reason this was clearly the case happened to be because the other combatant in Jose's fight appeared on the roof a good distance away from the hole, appearing to have simply dodged the attack with ease.

"You're quite lucky you moved when you did." Jose stated, being somewhat impressed and disturbed at the boy's speed.

"You're stupid to think that was luck." Ichigo scoffed.

"Ichigo?!" Gray shouted surprised, obviously not having expected the orange-haired teen to have shown up on the roof so abruptly.

The mentioned member of Fairy Tail turned to look towards where his friend had called out, but when he did, his face warped from a serious one to an expression of anger and embarrassment.

"Gray, what the hell are you doing?! And what happened to your clothes?!" Ichigo shouted, a small blush on his face as he did so.

"Wha…" Gray began to say in a confused voice.

He, however, looked down to see two things. Firstly, he was in a very compromising position overtop a girl that happened to be passed out, which he could understand would give his comrade the wrong impression. Secondly, for some reason or another, his pants were missing alongside his shoes, which he could've sword he had just a second ago.

"Oh come on! I mean, I took off my shirt when we fought, but where the hell did my pants go?!" Gray exclaimed.

"You pervert, get off her!" Ichigo shouted, noticing full well that the black-haired teen had yet to move.

"I-It's not what you think, I swear! She passed out randomly and I had to check on her! And I swear I don't know where my pants are!" Gray said in a panicked voice, obviously not wanting his friend to get the wrong impression.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! I swear Gray, if you…" Ichigo began, though he was cut off by a more immediate fight.

A series of purple ghost-like projectiles shot towards him at rapid speeds, which caused the substitute to dodge lest he find out what the things did firsthand. He used flash step to appear on the opposite side of the roof directly behind his opponent, after which he chose to mount a counterattack and make an attempt at slashing Jose across his back.

While it was a good move, the Wizard Saint had expected it and therefore dodged it with a short amount of time to spare by leaping forwards. The two then came into a practical standstill, each just taking position on opposite sides of the roof.

"Gray, take that girl and get off the roof. Find Mira and Elfman, they're already searching for you as it is." Ichigo stated.

"Gotcha… and good luck, Ichigo." Gray said.

A moment later the ice make user threw Juvia's body over his shoulders and then jumped through one of the broken glass windows down to the nearest indoor level of the fortress. The two combatants were once again alone, but despite this neither currently made a move to continue just yet.

"I find it interesting that you've sent your comrades away in order to face me on your own." Jose stated, almost as if he were thinking aloud.

"If I don't have to put anyone else's life in danger, then I won't." Ichigo simple replied.

"My, my, how noble of you. Still, it is foolish of you to face me alone even if you are much more powerful than most every other wizard in this country. Now, feel the power of my magic… Shadow Blade!" Jose exclaimed.

A large amount of purple magical energy began to surge around Jose's currently opened right hand. Shortly thereafter, the raw nexus of power coalesced into the form of a solid blade made of pure magical energy.

"Since I see you as an opponent worthy of my attention, I will inform you of what this is. Shadow Blade is created from the essence of my shades and acts as a very durable sword. It can cut you very easily, but the blood it draws isn't the most damaging aspect of it. You see, should you be cut by this blade, your very life energy will begin to fade ever so slightly and you will become weakened with each passing strike." Jose explained.

"Then I guess I'll just have to win without being cut." Ichigo reasoned.

Without any further delay, the two warriors lunged at one another with their respective swords drawn. In the dead center of the roof, the two blades came together in a massive resounding burst of force. Raw power and energy began to surge around the two as the continued to apply more and more pressure to their swords, but neither intended to give even an inch.

_**Inside Phantom's Headquarters: With Gray **_

"There ya go…" Gray said in a quiet voice as he delicately put Juvia's body down on the nearest piece of furniture he could find.

All he had to do now was to find the Strauss siblings and then they would likely tell him what they were supposed to do next. While a little part of his did want to go back and help out Ichigo in his fight against the enemy's leader, he knew that one of the Ten Wizard Saints was out of his league. In all honestly he was surprised that Jose wasn't out of Ichigo's league.

"Gray!" Mira exclaimed as she and her younger brother ran towards the ice magic user.

"Mira, Elfman?" Gray said in a surprised manner. It was true that he had meant to find them, but he didn't expect to do so this quickly.

"I take it you won your fight then?" Elfman mused, taking note that the teen was more injured than prior but nevertheless still standing.

"Yeah, I just need to find my pants." Gray stated.

"Um… you're wearing them…" Elfman pointed out.

"Huh?" Gray uttered confusedly.

He looked down to see that his pants had magically returned, but even so he couldn't for the life of him remember when he found them, if at all. Still, they were back and that was all that currently mattered.

"Never mind that, we need to find Erza and see if she needs our help. Remember that she is going up against Aria, the most powerful member of the Element Four." Mira stated.

"Right." Elfman and Gray replied simultaneously.

_**Outside Fairy Tail's Guildhall **_

"Keep on fighting everyone. We've got to hold out!" Cana exclaimed, though she herself was looking worse for wear.

Each and every member of the Fairy Tail guild was fighting as best as they could against the seemingly never-ending army of shades. Despite being outnumbered, they would be damned if they would admit being outclassed by such weak drones.

Their efforts in holding off the army of Jose's minions had not gone unrewarded as the magical circle of the Abyss Break had slowed its rotation a great deal since its initial appearance. That told each and every one of them that the Element Four were nearly defeated, and when that was accomplished only Jose and the Iron Dragon Slayer remained a threat to them.

"Look everyone, the circle… it's... it's…" Wakaba began, unable to actually finish his sentence out of both surprise and relief.

"It's vanishing!" Cana finished.

True enough, the massive magical circle that represented one of the most forbidden spells shattered before their very eyes. At this, a resounding cheer echoed throughout the nearby area courtesy of the Fairy Tail wizards. With that done, it meant the Element Four were indeed defeated.

However, they could let up just yet. The shades were still coming, and that mean that the greatest two obstacles were still likely ahead of them.

"Everyone keep it up! We need to keep these things busy so that they don't have to deal with them." Cana stated, finding a new surge of energy to fight.

_**Inside Phantom's Headquarters: With Erza**_

The scarlet-haired mage stood in place with barely a scratch marking her features and a scowl present on her lips. In short, her fight had been a bit of a disappointment. Her opponent wasn't incompetent, but she was able to dispatch him rather easily as opposed to what would occur should her opponent have been someone like Ichigo.

"Trash…" Erza growled out, still having no liking for the wizard that nearly brought about Makarov's death.

"Whoa…" Gray's voice called out from the entrance to the room.

Erza turned to see the two Strauss siblings and the black-haired ice magic user walking into the large corridor with surprised expressions on their faces. However, that was perhaps understandable given that she was standing virtually unscathed while her opponent was severely beaten and bruised despite the fact that he was no presumed pushover.

"I thought you said that guy was tough?" Elfman said humorously.

"Nah, I think Erza's just that strong…" Gray stated.

"What are you three still doing here?" Erza asked commandingly, breaking up the friendly chitchat.

"We we're asked to find everyone we could by Ichigo, he's…" Mira began.

As if to finish the barmaid's sentence, two men came crashing down from the ceiling with their weapons interlocked and determined expressions etched on their faces. In mid-air they each slashed with as much force as they could so as to exit the stalemate, the result of which was each flying in opposite directions before subsequently landing on the ground.

'_Well I guess now I don't need to finish…_' Mira thought, however she chose not to voice this given that it was no time for jokes.

"It would appear that my subordinate has failed me." Jose observed, glancing at the defeated body of the wind magic user as he did so.

"And they'll continue to. After all, you sent them into fights against Fairy Tail, so they really never had a shot of winning." Ichigo replied, giving off a taunting smirk.

"You're far too confident in your guild. However, all of those victories don't matter in the long run because I am more than capable of killing each of those who are behind you with little effort." Jose sneered.

"Threaten them again, I dare you." Ichigo growled out.

"Hit a nerve did I? Well, then perhaps I should stop focusing on you and kill them bef…" Jose began.

The dark red-haired man didn't even get a chance to finish his sentence before he found it necessary to bring up his magically-created weapon in order to block a powerful strike of his very aggravated opponent.

However, due to the abruptness of the attack he hadn't necessarily expected a follow up, which was why in the next second a powerful kick connected with his midsection and sent him flying into the wall on the far side of the room while he was powerless to stop the end result.

'_He seems to be in good form…_' Erza thought, being highly impressed that the teen had managed to do that to one of the Ten Wizard Saints.

"Are you guys alright?" Ichigo asked, turning to face the group of gathered Fairy Tail members.

"Yeah, but…" Gray began, though he was cut off.

"Look out Ichigo!" Mira exclaimed.

The orange-haired teen immediately turned and blocked the attack that came courtesy of Jose's Shadow Blade. Before any further attacks could be mounted, he leaped backwards and came to a stop directly in front of his comrades, his sword pointed directly at his opponent as an indicator that he refused to let the sadistic man past him.

"Get out of here, all of you. I will take care of him." Ichigo stated, though his eyes never left the cocky guild master in front of him.

"Alright…" Elfman answered obediently.

Though Ichigo's request was rather clear, only half of those present bothered to listen. Gray and Elfman began to leave due to the fact that they respected Ichigo enough to listen to his words, but the remaining two members of their group stood strong.

"Mira, Erza, come on. Ichigo said…" Gray said.

"You're dreaming if you believe I will abandon you at a time like this." Erza stated, cutting off her comrade and simultaneously ignoring him.

"That goes for me as well." Mira said firmly.

"When I said everyone, I meant everyone." Ichigo clarified in a serious tone, obviously not wanting to play any games at the moment.

"There isn't a chance in hell that I'm letting you take down this arrogant bastard on your own. We will finish this side by side." Erza exclaimed, leaving no room for argument with her tone and words.

While the scarlet-haired woman refused to leave out of a need to fight for Fairy Tail and a desire to battle alongside Ichigo, the remaining member of the group who had refused to leave had done so for the exact same reasons.

Unlike Erza, however, Mira was known not to have any vast amount of magical energy, not anymore at least. Still, the white-haired woman felt something within her being at this very moment that told her if she didn't try right now then she'd never be fully able to throw off her guilt, her anger, her sadness, and regain what she had lost.

Elfman had done so against a member of the Element Four in order to protect their guild, so she figured that if she didn't at least try with all of her might to summon her magical energy than she truly was useless. Moreover, she desired to fight alongside Ichigo, she too wanted to protect her friends, her loved ones, with all her heart.

"And as for me… I'm through running and hiding… I'm not going to let this man get away with what he's done to our guild…" Mira said in a soft voice.

Ichigo turned to say something to the white-haired woman in an attempt to clarify that he just wanted her to be safe and in her current condition she would just allow Jose to hurt something he cares about. However, he and everyone else present were rendered speechless by what they both saw and sensed.

A colossal amount of magical energy surged in the air around Mira's body, so much so in fact that the ground itself began to shatter and dissipate under the sheer force. The air became thick and heavy, and on top of all that an aura of dark-purple magical energy surged through the air around the previously powerless woman.

"**Graaaaaaaaaaaaaa!**" Mira screamed, seemingly in pain as her appearance began to morph.

'_She's… she's using it… but how?_' Erza wondered, unable to take her eyes off of the transforming image of her comrade.

When the magical energy finally did die down, Mira's full appearance was brought to bear. Her eyes became darker, her eyelashes grew larger, and her hair became far wilder in nature, now jutting upwards and getting curlier. Her front ponytail also grew longer and her ears became enlarged, extending backwards and gaining pointed edges that gave them a resemblance to those of a fictional elf's.

The white-haired woman's teeth were also sharper and her lips were now covered with dark lipstick. She also grew a large stocky tail seemingly made out of scales that became smaller and smaller as it neared its end. Her forearms were now covered by what appeared to be clawed gauntlets seemingly made out of scales and sported fin-like protrusions on its outer side.

Her new attire consisted of a dark, skimpy, sleeveless one-piece suit that had an open front, revealing her stomach and the sides of her breasts. A pair of thigh-high, high-heeled boots covered her feet, and a spikey collar appeared around her neck.

The woman's seemingly demonic appearance was completed by a dark zigzag-style marking that was placed vertically across her left eye. Similar markings to this were now present on her right breast and on both of her bare thighs.

"N-No way…" Elfman stuttered in a tone of disbelief as he saw his sister's appearance. He knew perfectly well what this was, and he hadn't seen it in over two years.

"Is that what I think it is?" Gray wondered aloud, sounding awestruck.

While most everyone stared at Mira's Satan Soul with an expression of confusion, surprise, or disbelief, there was one person who did quite the opposite. Ichigo, from his position, just smiled genuinely at the sight and feel of the white-haired woman's powers.

The orange-haired teen had been told that they vanished when her sister had died, but he knew perfectly well that the female wizard had the heart to overcome her emotions and fight for those she truly cared about. In actuality he expected something like this, though the physical appearance definitely wasn't something he had anticipated. Still, whenever he took on his soul form his appearance was far from normal, so he wasn't really one to talk.

Mira noticed the genuine smile on the substitute's face and nearly blushed despite the overwhelming demonic essence that had entered her being. In truth she was somewhat reluctant at showing her Satan Soul's appearance due to the fact that it definitely wasn't the most attractive of looks.

Perhaps it was a bit vein to consider something like that now of all times, but still she couldn't help but allow that concern pop into her head. It did, however, vanish upon seeing that Ichigo hadn't been disturbed by her appearance which caused said feeling to be replaced by a sense of comfort at the thought of her powers being accepted to a degree.

"Mira… since when exactly did you gain the use of your magical powers again?" Erza asked with a small smile, obviously being very happy for her friend and fellow Fairy Tail wizard.

"Save the talk for later. Right now we need to deal with Fairy Tail's enemy." Mira stated with a confident smirk.

"Yes… I suppose you're right." Erza mused.

A moment alter the redheaded wizard's body was engulfed in a bright light as it traditionally was whenever she opted to use her requip magic. When the light died down it appeared that she had taken up her Black Wing Armor, sword and all.

Both of the female Fairy Tail mages then stood at Ichigo's sides, obviously having ignored his request completely. They gave off the clear intent to fight by his side against Phantom's guild master, whether he liked it or not.

"Tell me to leave and I swear I'll smack you." Mira warned with a playful smile, though if she were genuinely told to leave at this point she would have likely kept her word and then some.

"I wouldn't dream of it… Elfman, Gray, you two should get out of here. I don't want either of you to be caught in the crossfire." Ichigo stated.

It took about one second for the two men to look at one another, nod, and run off. The prospect of being caught in the middle of Erza, Ichigo, and Mirajane whilst in her Satan Soul form as the three fought one of the Ten Wizard Saints wasn't exactly an attractive one. In all likelihood they would be blown away just by the force the combatants would generate by simply moving.

'_Damn… I had my hands full with the Kurosaki boy as it was. Now I have to take down both Titania Erza and Fairy Tail's Demon… how annoying. I may even have to recall my shades in order to use the full amount of my magical power._' Jose thought scornfully.

He didn't think that he couldn't do such a thing, but at the same time he knew very well that it wouldn't be easy to take down all three of them. The raw power of each of these three alone was enough to likely take down any one member of his guild with relative ease, but that didn't mean they were a match for one of the Ten Wizard Saints.

"You two ready to finish this bastard off?" Ichigo asked.

"Do you even need to ask?" Erza replied.

"Why haven't we started?" Mira inquired rhetorically, one of her clawed hands balling into a fist as she glared down the dark red-haired man.

_**Outside Fairy Tail's Guildhall **_

Without any sense of warning, the shades stopped relentlessly flying down from the sky like birds of prey in search of Fairy Tails wizards. One by one, they released a quiet wail before they began to dissipate in the air, almost as if they were being retracted.

Every member of the assaulted guild stood in place, their combat stances still present, but their expressions each being one of shock and confusion.

"They… they just disappeared?" Cana wondered aloud, sounding somewhat disappointed for some reason or other.

Currently it didn't seem to be the case that Jose had been defeated, and that was due to the reason that his magical energy was still very much so present within the mechanized castle that stood in place just off the cliff side near the guildhall. Still, if the shades were retracted than that meant that Phantom's master was in a bit of a bind.

At this point each of the combatants dropped their weapons and combat stances and looked on at the large currently immobile fortress that had previously threatened to destroy their entire city. They figured that should any explanation arise, it would be due to something happening in that structure.

Abruptly, a large wave of fire shot out of one of the lower sections of Phantom's headquarters, being extremely bright and large in magnitude. It seemed that Fairy Tail's dragon slayer was getting, as he would say, fired up.

"Well, that's Natsu." Cana mused with a small chuckle.

"Yeah, that'd be him alright." Macao stated.

"But I wonder where the others are. I mean, they have to be giving Phantom's master a hell of a fight to make him pull back his troops." Wakaba reasoned.

As if on cue, a large explosion sounded off from the very topmost section of the large building. It didn't seem to be caused by Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshou this time, as no blue light accompanied the explosion, but still most initially believed he was the cause.

Out of the freshly created gap in the precipice of the building, a ray of purple magical energy shot. It was instantly perceived as Phantom's guild master using his magical energy to keep him in the air, and within his right hand they could make out some kind of energy blade.

A moment later the other half, or what they thought to be, lunged at the dark red-haired man without delay. The two weapons clashed and Ichigo almost immediately broke the stalemate and sent Jose skidding across the air a good distance away from himself, though despite the fresh breathing room each of the combatants kept a strict combat stance.

"He can fly?!" Many exclaimed in unison.

"Ya know, at this point I'm not even surprised…" Cana thought aloud.

"Hang on a sec, looks like he ain't alone." Wakaba mused.

Everyone watched as two fighters exited the hole in the wall and made their way to Ichigo's sides, one being clearly identified as Erza who currently sported her Black Wing Armor, and another that no one quite recognized at first.

The appearance was familiar, but given that most all Fairy Tail wizards knew about Mira's situation, none of them wanted to believe their eyes were working properly. However, they were in fact fully functional as Mirajane Strauss currently hovered with her demonic wings outstretched in a battle against one of the Ten Wizard Saints.

"Is that… is that Mira?!" Cana exclaimed in a surprised tone.

_**Outside Phantom's Headquarters: Ichigo, Erza and Mira vs. Jose **_

"Dark Beam!" Jose exclaimed, outstretching his left pointer finger towards his opponents.

A large number of thin, bullet-like projectiles made of purple concentrated magical energy began to shoot forth, but the moment this happened each of the Fairy Tail wizards opted to take action. Despite the large number of incoming attacks, they began to move forward, dodging and sidestepping each and every one of the magically-created bullets with relative ease.

Erza was the first to reach her target, at which point she opted to slash at her opponent from the front in an effort to draw first blood. However, Jose had seen this attack coming a mile away and simple outstretched his hand, catching the crimson blade of Fairy Tail's strongest female with a sickening smirk present on his face.

The Wizard Saint's previously cocky expression changed an instant later as he was then punched in the jaw rather forcefully by none other than Fairy Tail's demon. He shot back in the air a good bit, but before he could even turn and threaten the female teenager for doing such a thing he found it necessary to use his energy blade to block an incoming strike from Ichigo.

This time, however, he opted to summon a series of shades to chase after his other two opponents, obviously not wanting to leave himself opened whilst he dealt with the orange-haired teen.

Ichigo would have been worried for the other two, but they were more than capable of dealing with a distraction like the shades and thus actually worrying would be an insult to their ample pride. No, his focus was meant to be entirely on their final enemy for the time being.

"I don't think I've ever seen a wizard with powers like yours before. Tell me, where do you come from and why do you fight so courageously under the banner of a tired old fool?" Jose asked.

Two separate things then occurred in rapid succession of one another. Firstly, Ichigo took his free left hand and made to grab Jose's neck, or at least that's what his opponent thought, and, secondly, he ended the stalemate by simply bringing his sword through and effectively sending his opponent skidding back in the air once more.

When this occurred, the orange-haired teen dropped his combat stance, which greatly confused Jose for a time. However, when he saw the substitute bring up his left hand he understood completely why he had gone for his neck and why he had chosen to drop his stance.

'_That little brat!_' Jose raged in thought.

Before his very eyes the man who had gotten in his way more than any other of the Fairy Tail wizards held in the palm of his hand the Wizard Saints medallion that had previously been around Jose's neck. Needless to say, the actual owner of the little trinket was not pleased.

"If you need to ask me questions like that, then you're even more of an idiot than I thought you were. Why I follow the old man and fight for my guild is pretty obvious, especially when it's against scum like you!" Ichigo shouted, shattering the medallion in his hand as he did so.

"Y-You…" Jose stuttered out as he looked in shock at the result of the teen's actions.

His Wizard Saints medallion, the proof of his status and one of the highest honors the Magic Council can bestow, had shattered into a million pieces right in front of him. To say he was shocked was an understatement, and in fact he was so much so in shock that he hadn't even begun to register his anger.

"Moon Slash!" Erza exclaimed, effectively breaking the dark red-haired man out of his daze. At this point, however, it was far too late for him to notice his folly and react to the incoming attack.

The scarlet-haired woman swung her sword twice in rapid succession with so much force that a thick wave of visible force took on a cross pattern and shot towards Jose without delay. The attack landed just as was intended, and the end result was Phantom's guild master to shoot across the air with burns and bruises covering his body. Even so, his opponents were far from done.

"Now Mira!" Erza called.

Jose's eyes widened out of shock an instant later upon feeling a large buildup of magical energy that rivaled the destructive power of some of his stronger attacks. Even right now he was powerless to move and stop it, which didn't bode well for his physical health.

"Soul Extinction!" Mira shouted.

A colossal blast of dark purple magical energy shot forward out of the white-haired woman's collective hands, relentless in its path and its target very clear. Phantom's esteemed master and simultaneously one of the Ten Wizard Saints could do nothing but wait for the devastating amount of energy to wash over his being, even finding it unbearable enough to the point that he began to release screams of pain.

Jose shot across the air once more, his clothes in tatters, his body severely wounded, and his form barely able to keep its place in the air above his guild's headquarters. He began to pant heavily, one of his eyes now being closed and the other only partially opened.

He looked back at the two female wizards that had just attacked him in his previous state of shock and scowled, but in his anger he failed to notice one thing, and failing to do so already cost him this battle if he hadn't by definition officially lost already.

A light blue glow was then noticed to be radiating from atop his body, after which he looked up to see the orange-haired Fairy Tail wizard with his sword held high and brimming with large amounts of raw energy.

The blue light emanating from Zangetsu reflected on the bodies of everyone present, and even went so far as to reach the roof of the somewhat-destroyed headquarters beneath them. Still, it wouldn't just be somewhat-destroyed in a moment just the same as Jose wouldn't only be somewhat-injured in the same period of time.

"Gestuga Tenshou!" Ichigo roared.

Out of Zangtsu's blade came a massive wave of light blue spiritual energy that eclipsed the body of the Wizard Saint and began to flood down without relent. The entire midsection of the massive fortress was engulfed by the spiritual energy of the attack, which caused it to tilt on its sides with smoke and fire pouring forth from its freshly created point of separation.

When the energy died down, Phantom's leader couldn't be seen. It appeared that the wave had shot him down to the very base of the fortress, and even if he was currently still in one piece there wasn't a chance that he was capable of fighting.

Even so, Ichigo just stood in place, glaring down at the large gap between the two halves of the previously deemed 'unstoppable fortress'. However, any sense of a combat stance or a feeling of caution vanished upon feeling an armored hand on his shoulder and seeing the owner of said hand to be a brightly smiling Erza Scarlet.

He then looked over to see Mira giving him the very same look, which came across as genuine even despite her demonic appearance. With a small smile on his own face, the substitute then released a tired sigh.

"Guess it's finally over…" Ichigo reasoned, placing his zanpakuto on his back once more and allowing the cloths to wrap it once again.

"Yes… it finally is…" Mira sighed out, obviously being content with the results.

_**Remnants of Phantoms Guildhall: With Natsu…**_

"Damn… and I wanted to be the one to fight that jerk." Natsu said jokingly, almost as if he was speaking to himself.

The pink-haired fire mage had managed to defeat Gajeel just before the battle with Jose had seemingly concluded. He witnessed the finishing blow, and he wouldn't have had Phantom's master go down any other way.

Moreover, he now knew that Mira had somehow managed to access her crazy amount of magical energy again. That could also have been a bad thing given his past experience with the formerly sadistic woman, but still since the manner in which she lost it was sad he did choose count it as a win.

On top of that he knew for a fact, even without actually knowing it, that it had to do with Ichigo. The orange-haired prudish 'strawberry' had done a lot for their guild already, and he had a feeling he would continue to do so in the future.

'_You really do belong in Fairy Tail, Ichigo…_' Natsu thought with a toothy smile.

"Um… Natsu…" Lucy called out in a quiet voice from her nearby position.

Her words didn't really seem to be heard by the pink-haired teen as evident by the fact that he just continued to smile brightly and not say a word. The third member of their group, however, knew exactly how to get his friend's attention.

"Natsu, Lucy wants you." Happy stated, poking the dragon slayers cheek in order to get his attention.

"Huh… oh, sorry Lucy. What'd ya wanna say?" Natsu asked in a friendly manner, turning to the blonde and still sporting the same innocent but somewhat charming smile he had previously dawned.

The blonde-haired female wizard averted her eyes and blushed in a shy manner, though whether that was because of the look on her friend's face or for another reason was unknown.

"I… I just wanted to say… thanks, ya know, for saving me back there." Lucy stated, gathering her courage and looking directly into the onyx eyes of her comrade as she did so.

"No matter what happens, I'll always be there to save ya. You're important to me, ya know?" Natsu said, closing his eyes and flashing a toothy grin towards the blonde.

"T-Thanks." Lucy replied, a bright crimson blush covering her face and no longer being able to meet the dragon slayer's eyes, despite the fact that they were closed.

"Now… how the hell do we get outta here?" Natsu wondered aloud, rubbing his chin in thought as he looked back towards their still standing, though highly damaged, guildhall.

"Natsu…" Happy trailed off whilst shaking his head. The fire mage could be very forgetful sometimes.

_**Outside Fairy Tail's Guildhall, Some Time Later…**_

"Damn, good job Natsu. I hadn't known that they took Lucy again." Ichigo said with a small smile, giving a respectful nod of approval towards the actions the dragon slayer took.

"Heh, I should be sayin' that to you. Ya took down one of the Ten Wizard Saints and all I got was the Iron Dragon Slayer. It was a good fight, don't get me wrong, but you see my point…" Natsu replied with a small grin.

"Yeah, but you beat Gajeel one on one, I had a bit of help." Ichigo pointed out modestly.

"And don't you forget it." Mira said cheerfully, latching onto the orange-haired teen's arm in an adorable but seemingly friendly manner.

This brought out a round of chuckles from the guild, even Ichigo, either out of the fact that it seemed to be a funny comment from the white-haired teen or because the mood was so cheerful in the wake of their victory.

"I guess we got the job done." Ichigo mused.

"Indeed you did…" Makarov's voice cut in.

Everyone in the guild immediately turned to see the elderly mage walking up to the gathered wizards with a proud smile showing across his face. He seemed to be in perfect health, and that was a great sense of relief to each and every one of those present.

"Master Makarov!" Many cheered happily, eliciting a small chuckle out of the esteemed leader of Fairy Tail.

"You all did an incredible job my children. Especially you three… Ichigo, Erza, and surprisingly Mira. I am proud of each and every one of you, and today you proved why Fairy Tail is still the strongest guild in all of Fiore." Makarov stated.

At this, many members of the guild then turned to look at the barmaid quizzically. Since everyone had gathered, no one had asked her any questions about how she had attained the use of her powers again.

'_Uh oh…_' Mira thought, giving off a smile but sweatdropping at all the stares she was currently receiving.

"So…" Macao began.

"…how'd you get your powers back?" Cana finished, the eyes and ears of most everyone present now being firmly directed towards the white-haired woman.

Mira began to slightly panic given that revealing exactly how that occurred and why she tried so desperately to fight for their return was an overall embarrassing story, and there was no way she was going to say it directly in front of Ichigo. It would basically be a confession in a manner of speaking, and if he didn't understand how important she viewed him at that point it would be even worse since the entire guild would know _except_ for him. Well, maybe Erza, Natsu, and Gray wouldn't understand, but everyone else would.

In private company to a group of people she knew wouldn't spread rumors she had no issues with telling her side of the tale, but telling everyone all at once would have been a pain. Still, she knew she had to respond, and thinking on her feet was always one of her strong suits.

"I… I decided to take someone's advice and I can't express how grateful I truly am to that person." Mira replied vaguely, giving off a genuine smile but not directing it towards anyone in particular given that doing so would make the person she had referenced far too obvious.

Many members of the guild seemed a bit confused by the ambiguous nature of the barmaid's words, but there were a few who understood. Those who shared a similar reaction were Natsu, Makarov, and Elfman, two of whom knew the direct meaning of Mira's words and one of whom had a 'hunch' as to what they meant. They just continued to smile, not choosing to say a word since each knew that Mira had a reason for not wanting to say the name of the 'strawberry' that had given her the advice.

Erza, initially, didn't understand what her friend had been referring to. She had, at first, thought that perhaps this was advice given to her long ago and she had just recently been able to put into practice.

However, she distinctly saw Ichigo smile immediately after the barmaid had said those words, and it was then that the redheaded wizard put two and two together. The one person she assumed would be able to reach out to anyone and help them would be him, that much she knew.

Still, the tone and general actions she had seen Mira take as of late were now racing into her mind like an uncontrollable flood. What she had previously perceived as somewhat playful and friendly were now deemed as direct advances taken on Mira's part out of affection. Needless to say, she wasn't exactly calm and collected at the moment. Well, inwardly at least since outwardly she didn't move an inch. She couldn't, however, maintain a smile for the time being.

"Well my dear… whoever that person is, we are glad that _he_ happened to come to us when _he_ did." Makarov said with a knowing smirk.

"Ehehehehe…" Mira chuckled nervously, inwardly wanting nothing more than for the master to shut his mouth before he said something she absolutely did not want him to say.

'_Ichigo… you truly are an amazing person. I for one truly am glad that you came when you did._' Erza thought, allowing herself to smile despite her previous state of paranoia.

"Still… there is one thing left to do." Makarov stated in a serious voice, breaking up the cheerful mood and replacing it with a unanimous sense of confusion.

"What is that, master?" Erza questioned.

"Natsu defeated another dragon slayer, our guild emerged victorious, and three of our finest wizards took down one of the Ten Wizard Saints. On top of all that, everyone in our guild is okay. While tomorrow and the future will be reserved for rebuilding and dealing with the fallout, today is a day for celebration!" Makarov shouted, thrusting his fist into the air as he did so.

"Alright!" Many cheered, mimicking the master's action.

"We'll tear down the guild tomorrow and build a new one. For now, go nuts my children!" Makarov exclaimed before he and everyone else ran into the guildhall.

**A/N Okay, just a reminder that the next chapter will be posted next Monday. **

_**Explanations**_:

**What's Next?**: Next will be a few chapters that aren't canon whatsoever, though it isn't necessarily an entire arc. That will last a few chapters, after which it will be the Tower of Heaven Arc.

_**Reviews**_:

**KratosTheGodofWar**: Yes.

**NIX'S WARDEN**: Yes, I have decided, though I won't directly say.

**hollowichigo12**: Sorry, I don't really have an ETA xD

**HurricaneGohan94**: I will be skipping over that, though it will be referenced, obviously. You'll see what happens in three chapters I think.

**GirlFish**: Not any continuous trouble, though expect an eventual issue to arise.

**Hotstreak's crossover stories**: No. It will be mentioned, but the chapter it is mentioned in will be something else entirely.

**Lttaco**: For this story, no dual-wield Zangetsu.

**GemeniNoIntegra**: Well, he won't be godlike, expect _some_ hardships down the road. He will obviously be strong, though.

**god's executioner REBORN**: No characters will be getting hollowfications.

**Teddypro**: Meh, I don't really know.

**Guest(1+2)**: Can't really answer.

**Guest(3)**: Yes, I actually have a fun little surprise for the festival arc.


	24. Celebrations

**A/N Okay, so since I still have exams this will unfortunately once again be the only chapter posted this week. Regardless, enjoy! **

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

**Chapter 24 **

"Still… there is one thing left to do." Makarov stated in a serious voice, breaking up the cheerful mood and replacing it with a unanimous sense of confusion.

"What is that, master?" Erza questioned.

"Natsu defeated another dragon slayer, our guild emerged victorious, and three of our finest wizards took down one of the Ten Wizard Saints. On top of all that, everyone in our guild is okay. While tomorrow and the future will be reserved for rebuilding and dealing with the fallout, today is a day for celebration!" Makarov shouted, thrusting his fist into the air as he did so.

"Alright!" Many cheered, mimicking the master's action.

"We'll tear down the guild tomorrow and build a new one. For now, go nuts my children!" Makarov exclaimed before he and everyone else ran into the guildhall.

_**Fairy Tail's Guildhall: Basement, Some Time Later…**_

The Fairy Tail wizards each went about their celebrations in a typical fashion. People were drinking, Gray was constantly loosing and then regaining his clothes, Natsu was fighting people, and everyone, in general, was having a good time.

As of this point, the celebration had only just commenced. It had been perhaps fifteen or so minutes since they had entered the guild, and almost immediately they shook off everything that had happened and became cheerful once more in the wake of their resounding and hard-fought victory.

At a table situated near a collection of barrels full of alcohol, a group of Fairy Tail wizards sat, among whom were Lucy, Elfman, Erza, and Ichigo. Abruptly, however, a certain brown-haired alcohol fan walked up to their table, either due to their proximity to a large amount of booze or because the table housed quite a few of her better friends.

"I gotta say, you guys did a damn good job. Thanks to you the guild is back to normal… well, normal for us anyways." Cana stated as she took a seat next to the blonde-haired celestial mage.

"Yes, though I believe that is mostly thanks to Ichigo here." Erza said, smiling slightly as she glanced at the man she currently sat next to.

Though the substitute did appreciate the compliment coming from one of Fairy Tail's strongest wizards, the entirety of the credit shouldn't and didn't belong to him. In truth everyone in the guild did their part, and he was no different.

"I didn't really do anything all that special. In all honesty, I was the only one who needed a hand to finish off my opponent since Mira and Erza stepped in to help finish the fight." Ichigo replied modestly.

"Heh, from what I saw you were beating into Phantom's master pretty easily, just like a real man!" Elfman shouted cheerfully.

"Indeed, I believe our intervention was unneeded. You really must stop being so humble, Ichigo." Erza added.

"However you look at it, we won in the end, right? I think we could all use a drink to celebrate!" Cana cheered.

"Hell no." Ichigo plainly replied directing a friendly but somehow mocking smile towards the brown-haired teen.

"Oh come on! After everything that's happened we should at least have a round to celebrate." Cana lightly pleaded, though the orange-haired teen's expression remained unchanged.

"If he does not wish to enjoy himself, then let him be… however, defeating one of the Ten Wizard Saints is cause for celebration…" Erza stated suggestively, prompting the substitute to release a defeated sigh.

If one of the most strict and uptight people he had ever known believed he should relax a bit and let himself go, he knew he was being far too unreasonable.

"Dammit, fine. I'll have _a drink_, got it?" Ichigo said in a serious voice.

"Uh huh, sure." Cana replied with a mischievous smirk.

Ichigo paled slightly at that, mostly because he was getting a sense of déjà vu. The last time he had said that it didn't exactly work out the way he had planned.

"Oh yeah?! Bring it, popsicle!" Natsu roared from across the guildhall.

"Keep talkin' and I'll shut your mouth for ya, fire breather!" Gray shouted back.

Everyone at the table turned to see the two 'rivals' go at one another with their fists and feet. Fortunately, however, they didn't drag anyone else into their conflict. Another element that seemed out of place was the fact that no action was being taken to stop them, which was very curious given that Erza was in the exact same room.

"Are you not going to do anything to stop them?" Ichigo asked, sounding somewhat surprised.

"I could ask you the same question… but to answer yours, no, I'm not. They both fought hard today and deserve to have their fun, just this once. I assume that you're doing nothing about it for the same reason?" Erza said.

"Maybe…" Ichigo replied with a small smirk.

"Hey guys!" Mira greeted cheerfully as she walked over to the table with a circular tray being held up on her hand sporting a drink for everyone at the table.

"I see you brought me a present." Cana observed with a bright smile as she looked at the mug of booze being placed in front of her.

"Well I overheard that you wanted some drinks, so I figured I'd bring them over." Mira stated as she finished serving the drinks.

The white-haired woman made to leave a moment later, believing that other people likely needed to be catered to given that everyone was pretty much drinking at this point in time. However, one person in particular was of the opinion that she should do no such thing.

"Hey Mira…" Ichigo called out.

Almost instantly the barmaid turned stopped dead in her tracks, turned around, and smiled brightly at the orange-haired teen. This made Erza raise a curious brow, but she once again chose to keep her paranoia to herself.

"Yes?" Mira inquired in a sweet-sounding voice.

"Where exactly are you going?" Ichigo asked, sounding somewhat confused.

"Um… to serve drinks to other people…" Mira replied, obviously not understanding the reason behind the substitute's question.

"Why?" Ichigo inquired, still sounding confused though it appeared to be feigned.

"Because it's my job…" Mira answered as if it were obvious.

"Aren't you one of the three members of this guild that took down Phantom's master and officially ended this whole thing while using powers that you haven't been able to use for years?" Ichigo questioned in a serious voice.

"Y-Yes." Mira stuttered, sounding somewhat embarrassed given that she now knew where this was headed. Now she just felt somewhat foolish for having answered his previous questions in such a blank manner.

"If that's true, then I will repeat my previous question. Where are you going?" Ichigo said.

At this, several present smiled due to the fact that one of their guilds most cherished members had been essentially broken out of her usual routine, and rightly so. Mira had done exactly what Ichigo had hoped she would. She very clearly didn't belong serving drinks at a time like this, rather she belonged in the celebration with everyone else.

"To take a seat and enjoy the night." Mira answered before she took her position directly to Ichigo's left.

"So Mira… what does it feel like to have your powers back after all this time?" Erza questioned in a curious voice.

"It feels… well, fantastic! Now maybe I can even go on missions again and do what I used to love doing. But I may be a bit out of practice…" Mira replied, releasing a nervous giggle as she finished.

"If you would like, I'd be happy to go on an assignment with you in order to lend some assistance." Erza offered.

"Count me in on that too. If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask." Ichigo said.

"Thanks, I might take you up on that." Mira replied, though to whom she was referring to wasn't exactly clear.

"Okay, now that everyone's happy, let's have a drinking game!" Cana chirped happily.

"I said one drink!" Ichigo exclaimed. He could swear this is exactly what happened last time.

"Oh come on, it might be fun." Mira mused.

"I agree, and to be honest I am surprised that you are reluctant to have fun in this instance given all that we've just dealt with." Erza stated, sounding somewhat disappointed.

'_What the hell?!_' Ichigo thought out of annoyance. He really, really felt like a stick in the mud at this point, but even so he would never in a million years expect Erza Scarlet to be in favor of a drinking game.

"See Ichigo, Erza's okay with it too… and if you don't play, you'll make us sad. You wouldn't want to make us sad, would you?" Mira asked.

Ichigo made the mistake of turning to face the white-haired woman in order to make his reply. When he did so, however, any answer other than 'yes' became the definition of impossible. He was subjected to looking at perhaps the best begging face he had ever seen in his existence as a human being, and that was saying something when Yuzu was his younger sister, a person who was more than capable of making him feel guilty about saying no to anything. In a manner of speaking, the expression that was directed at him it was beyond cute.

"I-I… okay, f-fine." Ichigo replied, his voice sounding somewhat strained for some reason and a light blush crossing his cheeks.

"Yay! Thanks Ichigo, I promise it'll be fun!" Mira chirped excitedly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… so what game are we playing?" Ichigo inquired, turning to the brown-haired woman who made the suggestion in the first place.

"Maybe we could take a drink every time Natsu and Gray throw a punch at one another." Cana suggested.

"There's not even enough alcohol in this dimension for us to consider that." Ichigo replied, sounding serious.

That drew a round of laughter from everyone present, even Erza who did recognize the mild truth to those words. However, at the mention of their names, the two wizards walked over with curious expression on their faces, Happy flying over in tow.

"What're you guys doin'?" Natsu inquired.

"We're playing a drinking game, but we don't…" Ichigo began.

"If Ichigo's playing, then I want in too!" They stated in unison, cutting off the orange-haired teen.

Many present chuckled at that reaction, though Ichigo just stared at them with slightly widened eyes. Mira was the only one to release a girlish giggle, mostly because she more than anyone found it amusing how brotherly the otherworldly man seemed to have gotten with Natsu, and evidently Gray to a degree.

"Stop copying me!" They shouted, glaring angrily at one another.

"Calm down you two. There's always room for more. We'd just have to move to another table though…" Cana stated.

"Before we do that, let's pick a game first." Ichigo said.

Everyone then donned an expression of deep thought, no game in particular coming into mind that would be all that fun. Well, Cana was the one exception given that she found drinking in and of itself very fun.

Abruptly, however, Mira's expression shifted to one that gave of a mischievous intent. No one spotted it out, but nevertheless it only went to show the motivation behind her following words.

"I know, why don't we play a game of truth or dare? Each person gets a turn to pick who they want to select for their truth or dare, that person gets to choose, and if they don't like it then they can dodge by taking a drink." Mira suggested.

"That… doesn't sound half bad actually." Cana stated.

"I think it would be rather amusing." Erza commented.

"I'm game." Lucy added.

"Me too." Gray and Natsu said in unison, after which they just growled at one another.

"A real man never backs down from a challenge." Elfman proclaimed.

"No fair, I wanna play! How come no one asked if I wanted to?!" Happy exclaimed childishly.

"I don't have a problem if you want to play with me on a team or something. I don't think you should drink though…" Ichigo stated. A cat getting drunk was something he'd never seen before nor did he want to see it. The fact that this feline happened to be capable of speech mad his lack of desire to see such a thing even greater.

"Aye!" Happy chirped in agreement.

"Hey, why didn't you want to play with me?" Natsu asked confusedly.

"Too bad Natsu! Ichigo asked first." Happy huffed, crossing his arms and turning his back to his evidently shunned best friend.

"What the hell man?!" Natsu exclaimed, obviously not understanding the blue-furred feline's reaction.

_**Some Time Later…**_

The order for the seating arrangements was as follows. At the head of the table and the first to actually get a turn was Cana. To her left were Natsu, then Elfman, then Erza, after who was Mira, followed by Ichigo, on whose shoulder was Happy, Gray, and then finally Lucy.

"Okay, so I guess I'll start us off and then we can just go to my left, agreed?" Cana said.

Everyone at the table seemed to nod in agreement at this, which meant that the game could begin without any further delay. The brown-haired women began to scan around the table, and, when her eyes landed on her target, she smirked.

"Lucy… truth or dare?" Cana questioned with a sadistic smirk.

"W-Why me?" Lucy blurted out confusedly.

"Sorry, but I'm not the one who has to answer anything. Now, truth or dare?" Cana repeated, causing the blonde to lightly glare at her.

"Um… truth." Lucy answered.

"What color are your panties?" Cana inquired almost immediately.

"Wh-Wh-What kind of question is that?!" Lucy exclaimed.

She along with several others at the table were blushing rather evidently at this, but then again the goal was to win the game after all, and there really wasn't a better way to knock out someone than to ask them embarrassing questions. Lucy was an incredibly easy target since she got embarrassed rather easily.

"You picked truth, so you have to answer. Either that or take a drink if you don't have the guts to answer." Cana stated, her smirk still shining at full force.

"The answer's easy. They're white." Natsu answered evenly, drawing many odd stares to himself.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Lucy shouted angrily.

"Natsu… why do you know that?" Cana asked curiously.

If she hadn't asked it, the question would have been prompted by either Erza, Mira, or Ichigo, each of whom was not exactly thrilled to see the dragon slayer doing such things as openly looking at female undergarments.

"I saw when during my fight with Gajeel… a lot of stuff happened, but I think I saw them about… hmm, Happy, how many times was it?" Natsu asked.

Everyone turned to look at the blue-furred cat that sat atop Ichigo's shoulder, seeing him attempt to raise three fingers as to illustrate the exact number. Lucy, from her seated position at the table, tried to hide behind her hands out of sheer embarrassment.

"So yeah, Happy says three." Natsu added.

"I want to die…" Lucy groaned out in a depressed manner.

"Oh cheer up. For future reference though, you'll have to be the one giving the answer… got it?" Cana stated, eliciting only a groan of defeat from the still embarrassed blonde-haired girl.

"Next up is me, right?" Natsu asked eagerly, receiving a nod of confirmation.

It didn't take long for the pink-haired dragon slayer to instantly look at Ichigo and point at him so as to illustrate who it was he was going to choose. That was actually somewhat surprising to several playing the game, mostly because they expected Natsu to try and get Gray out of the game before doing anything else.

"Ichigo, truth or dare?" Natsu questioned.

At first the orange-haired teen didn't give a response. Rather, a certain blue-haired cat began to lightly glare at Natsu before whispering something into Ichigo's ear, appearing as if he was telling him something in secret.

"Okay, truth." Ichigo replied.

"What was that cool-lookin' badass thing you did back at Phantom's guildhall? You know… the thing with the weird eyes and the white skin." Natsu said.

"Natsu." Erza quickly growled out in a tone implying she were trying to correct his mistake.

The redheaded teen knew very well that Ichigo would tell them about it when he was ready, but that didn't mean they had a right to hound him about something that had to be very personal. The fact that he lost control to that degree gave her the impression that whatever happened had a rather disheartening backstory to it, and she'd rather not force him to discuss such things.

"No, it's okay… after all I do owe you all an explanation as to what that was. It is a long story though…" Ichigo stated.

"We got time." Natsu pointed out blankly.

"Okay then… well, I guess I should start by telling you what it's called. What happened to me was a process called hollowfication…" Ichigo began.

_**Some Time Later…**_

The next half hour or so was spent with a rather lengthy explanation about how the process of hollowfication worked, why he had the issue in the first place, and how he ultimately solved the problem by subjugating his inner hollow by essentially defeating him in mortal combat.

There were several pauses as several were curious about the concept of an 'inner world', which he explained as best as he could but it wasn't really something you could describe given that he assumed all of them were different in appearance. Since all people were different from one another it wouldn't make sense for the structure of their souls to be identical, or at least he thought.

Any additional stoppages in conversation were attributed to Natsu asking, in his own intellectual way, if all hollows looked that 'cool'. However, upon an explanation of what they were, Natsu didn't quite have any desire to meet one any time soon. All the same, he did still submit that it looked cool despite everything that was said, which made Ichigo want to slam his head against the wooden table but he restrained himself from doing so.

When all was said and done, Ichigo slumped back into his chair and took in a deep breath of air. The amount of explaining the just did was rather lengthy, so it was only natural for him to be tired. Still, it was necessary and he may as well have gotten it out of the way sooner rather than later.

"One thing I don't understand. If you subjugated your 'inner hollow', then why is it that you underwent the process of hollowfication in Phantom's guildhall?" Erza questioned quizzically.

"That's a complicated answer… but basically I just wasn't aware that he was still present within my soul, which meant that it was easy for him to get control of my spiritual body." Ichigo replied.

"But how could you not know he was there? I mean, if it's inside you then shouldn't you know?" Natsu asked confusedly.

"Normally, yes, but there's a bit of a reason for that. A little over a year ago I gave up my Soul Reaper powers to defeat someone who was strong enough to overpower almost everyone I knew. In the end I did what I had to do, and I only just recently regained the ability to use my Soul Reaper powers. Since I only recently got them back, I wasn't aware that he still existed." Ichigo explained.

Everyone seemed to nod in understanding at the substitute's response, though no one said a word for a small period of time. At the moment they were all just trying to absorb what was just told to them, and, while it wasn't all too disturbing, it didn't exactly elevate their happiness.

"Nice job killing the mood, Natsu." Cana said jokingly.

"Hey, I was just askin'!" Natsu shouted defensively.

"Yeah, well next time don't." Gray scoffed.

"Oh, like you weren't curious about it?" Natsu countered, his words getting no reaction other than for the raven-haired teen to avert his eyes and ignore the question.

"It's alright. Like I said before, I needed to explain what happened and now at least I don't have to do it again… I hope." Ichigo said.

"Still, let's get back to having fun, eh? Elfman, you're up." Cana stated.

The white-haired man then began to look around the table with an unreadable expression. It appeared that he was choosing his target carefully, but his eyes eventually landed on his elder sister and seemed to stick.

Elfman knew his sister very well and could predict what she would choose, and since that would undoubtedly be 'truth' he had a free pass to ask her something. He knew exactly what question he wanted to ask, and even if she dodged by downing a drink he would still be able to tell what the answer was.

"Mira… truth or dare?" Elfman questioned.

"Truth." Mira answered cheerfully, a bright smile still etched on her face as it traditionally was.

Her smile, however, wavered upon seeing the smirk forming on her younger sibling's lips. It seemed that he knew perfectly well what she would choose, which only meant that she wouldn't like the question she was about to be asked.

"Do you have someone you like, big sis? As in, _like,_ like." Elfman inquired.

At this point most everyone at the table paid very close attention to the white-haired woman, each for their own reasons. Some were out of curiosity, some out of apprehension, but whatever the reason all eyes were currently on her.

"Um…" Mira muttered in an attempt to stall.

She had two choices laid before her, cower away and dodge the question or answer it and be a little bit bolder than she intended to be. The question was ambiguous, yes, but if she did choose to answer it and do so honestly, then there was a chance that a certain orange-haired teen sitting at the very same table playing the very same game would pick up on her answer.

"Come on big sis… ya either gotta answer or take a drink." Elfman pressed.

"…yes." Mira answered.

At this, several were surprised given that they hadn't actually expected her to answer the question. Two people in particular, however, only had their suspicions further confirmed. One of them, in fact, now believed they outright knew what was going on.

'_I knew it!_' Elfman thought, fighting back an expression of realization in favor of keeping his calm façade.

'_So she is interested in someone… but who?_' Erza thought, the only candidate coming to her mind being the very same person she desperately wished the barmaid wasn't interested in.

"So… who is it?" Cana asked with a cheeky grin.

"That wasn't part of the question." Gray pointed out uncaringly.

"That's right… now your turns done, Elfman, so Erza's up now." Mira said cheerfully, her smile appearing more forced than prior.

The reason for her traditionally bright smile losing a bit of its fervor was the fact that Ichigo hadn't phased in the slightest upon hearing her answer. The substitute clearly didn't even understand that she had been making the attempt at hinting to him she had been referring to him.

'_Just notice a little bit!_' Mira thought, wanting to do nothing more than slam her foot into the ground and grind the nearest floorboard into a pile of dust.

Still, it wasn't exactly the worst thing in the world to have answered the question, and even if the object of her desire hadn't picked up on her ever so slight hint she still had other things to worry about. Mira's primary goal, at the moment, was to get Elfman knocked out of the game, if only to punish him for putting her in such a position in the first place.

"Hmmm… Lucy, truth or dare?" Erza asked in a friendly manner, breaking the barmaid out of her thoughts as she did so.

"Um… truth." Lucy replied, believing that the model of justice would at least ask her something less personal than the color of her underwear.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Erza simply inquired.

"W-What's with you people asking me stuff like this?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"The object of any competitive game is to win, and the best way to do that is to make you drink until you pass out by asking uncomfortable questions." Erza explained.

The blonde just mumbled something under her breath before she decided to pick up the nearest mug of alcohol and slowly drink it until nothing within the cup was left. Evidently answering that question was more embarrassing than the color of her panties being revealed.

"Okay, I'm next. Elfman, choose." Mira immediately stated, not even waiting for the scarlet-haired woman to pass off to the next person.

"Real men pick dares!" Elfman exclaimed proudly, puffing his chest out in an intimidating manner.

"I dare you to drink and have fun until you pass out." Mira said with a sweet but somewhat sinister smile, closing her eyes and tilting her head in an innocent manner as she did so.

"B-But that would take me out of the game!" Elfman exclaimed.

"Which is why you can take a drink and dodge it…" Cana stated.

"But wouldn't that make him less manly? I mean what kind of man dodges a dare?" Mira wondered aloud, inwardly smiling sadistically as she could just hear in her head exactly what her younger brother would say.

"Real men don't dodge dares!" Elfman shouted before running over to the bar and grabbing an entire barrel of booze.

"Okay… well, I guess that means the first person is out. You're up, Ichigo." Cana said.

Immediately after the brown-haired woman had passed the next turn on, Happy began to whisper something into Ichigo's ear. All he did in response was nod, but shortly thereafter he made to speak.

"Natsu, truth or dare?" Ichigo asked.

"Dare!" Natsu answered predictably, almost shooting up out of his chair in an excited fashion.

"I dare you to challenge Gray to a drinking contest. Winner is the last one standing." Ichigo said.

At this, both Natsu and Gray got up from their chairs out of protest. Evidently they both knew what this would mean, mostly due to the fact that should they have a drinking contest they would pass out at the exact same time. Though neither of them would admit it, alcohol consumption was an area they both lacked in and equal degree.

"What kind of a dare is that?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Yeah and why do I have to be involved?" Gray asked.

"Well that was the dare. You don't have to do it, but for Natsu that would mean backing away from a challenge or admitting he was worse than Gray at something. I don't know, seems like a pretty tough choice to me…" Ichigo said with a small smirk, though he hid it from said dragon slayer.

"But that'd make us both out of the game!" They whined in unison.

"Maybe next time one of you will ask for me to be on your team." Happy said contentedly, closing his eyes and crossing his arms in a superior fashion.

"You did this?!" Natsu asked in a surprised tone.

"Yeah, it was his idea. He said the two of you wouldn't back away from a challenge against one another and he's my teammate so I can't just say no." Ichigo replied.

"Aye." Happy said in agreement.

"He's got us there… now bring it on you half-rate stripper!" Natsu exclaimed.

"I'll crush you like a bug, flame-brain!" Gray shouted back, after which the two ran over to join Elfman over by the main bar.

"Good job Happy." Ichigo complimented.

"Naturally!" Happy chirped.

"Well since Gray and Natsu are out, looks like it's your turn Lucy." Mira reasoned.

"Erza, truth or dare?" Lucy instantaneously asked, her tone possessing a slight edge.

That came as a bit of a surprise to the remaining players of the game, but it wasn't entirely ludicrous given that the redhead had caused Lucy a bit of embarrassment.

"I will select truth." Erza answered robotically.

"Have you ever had a boyfriend?" Lucy asked in a content tone, obviously relishing the opportunity to get back at the scarlet-haired wizard for her previous turn.

Erza, upon hearing the question, outwardly exhibited a small sense of panic. However, her appearance returned to normal a moment later upon actually hearing the wording of the question. The second she heard 'boyfriend' her mind just went momentarily blank.

"No, I have not." Erza answered honestly, no hesitation present in her voice.

Lucy just huffed in response, obviously not being satisfied with the result of her question. She really, really thought that would be enough to rattle the scarlet-haired knight, if only a little.

"Let me show you how it's done Lucy… Erza, truth or dare?" Cana asked, the duty of calling someone out having shifted directly to her since the blonde's turn came to pass.

"Truth." Erza replied calmly, though the words of Fairy Tail's most adamant drinker made her inwardly curious and apprehensive.

"Do you currently want someone to be your boyfriend, meaning a specific person?" Cana asked, causing her blonde-haired friend to give a thumbs-up out of approval.

This time the panic that the female wizard exhibited after the question seemed to stay in place, though a more predominant sense of nervousness was shown. The redheaded teen just continued to stutter and mutter things incoherently, obviously in an attempt to stall.

Most expected her to immediately answer no, or in the case of Ichigo, he found himself wondering exactly what her answer would be, just the same as with Mira. He didn't know why he particularly cared, but on some level he knew it at least interested him.

"Um… umm…" Erza mumbled.

Somewhat to everyone's surprise, the scarlet-haired hardened warrior took the nearest mug of alcohol and drank it within a few seconds, her eyes never meeting those of anyone else at the table as she did so.

'_Well, looks like I found a way to beat the redhead._' Cana thought with a somewhat sinister smirk.

'_Cana definitely won't let that slip past her. I need to immediately get her out of the game!_' Erza thought. At this point it may have been her competitive nature taking over in addition to the fact that she didn't want to be 'found out' by one of the biggest gossipers in all of Fairy Tail.

"Oh damn, I have to get back to my place now! Rents due and the landlord would kill me if I don't get there in time!" Lucy exclaimed.

In all the commotion that occurred today, she had forgotten about her rent payment appointment, which was somewhat of an important thing to remember if she wished to continuously live in her lovely home.

"Looks like it's my turn again… um, Ichigo, truth or dare?" Mira asked sweetly, turning to look at the orange-haired teen as she spoke.

"Truth." Ichigo replied evenly.

"Let's see… now what should I ask you? Well everyone else has asked this, so I might as well! Have you ever had a girlfriend before?" Mira asked, delicately hiding the fact that this was a question she had intended to ask despite what anyone else had said.

"No, I haven't. I haven't really even kissed a girl or anything like that either … guess I just never had the time to try and get into a relationship." Ichigo replied, giving a small uncaring shrug.

"I find that rather surprising. Someone of your… looks… s-should be able to easily find someone who is interested." Erza said, a light blush coming onto her cheeks.

She started out rather calm, but she just couldn't help herself from realizing that what she was about to say could be interpreted as flirting. While she was a hardened warrior and a very calm and collected person, romance of any kind was not her department and definitely wasn't an area where her robotic and leader-like demeanor shined through.

"I'm with Erza on this one… that does surprise me." Mira thought aloud, however the news did give her a small sense of joy given that she was the same way.

"You are telling the truth, right? I mean, a guy like you could easily be a playboy if he just stopped being a prude…" Cana said with a suggestive smirk.

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny. I'm not interested in that sort of thing. In fact I happen to hate people like that." Ichigo stated.

"So it's the truth?" Cana asked.

"Yeah, it is. Why would I lie about something like that?" Ichigo countered.

"Interesting… well I know what I'm daring you to do if you ever pick it." Cana stated with a sly wink.

Ichigo blushed slightly at this but wasn't so embarrassed that he had to avert his eyes. Mira and Erza, on the other hand, fought the urge to lunge at the woman who had just recently opened her mouth and said something she shouldn't have.

"It would appear that I am next. Cana, tru…" Erza began, only to stop upon seeing the brown-haired woman gulp down an entire mug of booze.

"Don't bother asking me, I'll just take the drink. I _can_ handle my alcohol, after all." Cana stated.

'_Dammit…_' Erza inwardly swore, her fists balling out of frustration. She couldn't deny the fact that Cana could outdrink her, and if she was the target of each and every one of her turns, she would quickly pass out due to too much alcohol consumption.

Normally, losing the game and allowing that would just hurt her pride, but now there was the threat that it would leave Ichigo and Mirajane alone with one another while she was passed out. With her paranoid thoughts never really leaving her mind, it still remained a present worry that perhaps the barmaid intended to beat her to the 'finish line', as it were.

"Okay, guess it's my turn." Ichigo thought aloud.

A moment later, just as in the previous turns, Happy whispered something into the orange-haired man's ear. This time, however, he visibly reacted to the words the cat had said.

"What? She didn't really do that, right? You're kidding me…" Ichigo exclaimed, sounding as if he didn't believe what he was told.

"Nope." Happy answered, simultaneously shaking his head.

"But isn't that a bit harsh?" Ichigo asked.

"But it's the only way to win!" Happy chirped.

"Alright… Cana, I'm picking you." Ichigo said.

"Well I'm just gonna take a drink. I don't really need to do anything to win, after all." Cana stated cockily.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you… after all, if you didn't choose dare right now then I might be forced to talk about an incident at… let's say a place called 'The Golden Barrel'." Ichigo began, smirking slightly as he spoke.

Two of the remaining participants of the game looked at the brown-haired woman with expressions that implied they were completely lost. Their confusion was only compounded by the fact that Cana seemed to be in a state of absolute panic and dread, her body almost shacking in fear.

"Y-You wouldn't!" Cana exclaimed, though all the bite of her voice was completely gone.

"Happy thinks I should." Ichigo replied nonchalantly.

"Aye!" Happy said in agreement.

"O-Okay, then I pick dare." Cana said, calming down a bit given that she obviously believed the orange-haired teen wouldn't blab about something that personal.

The amount of embarrassment from that incident was something she had to live with as a drinker for all her life. In actuality all that occurred was that she had opted to try alcohol for the first time and had actually gotten plowed off of a singular drink. Her pride would just never allow anyone to know that ever happened.

"I dare you to get up and say that you're the biggest lightweight drinker in the history of Fairy Tail." Ichigo stated.

"Ha! I'd rather die!" Cana scoffed.

"Then you're sure you don't want to do it?" Ichigo asked in a knowing voice.

"Yeah… dammit, I'm out!" Cana exclaimed in an aggravated tone, instantly getting up from her seat and rushing over to the main bar next to the currently passed out forms of Natsu, Gray, and Elfman.

As of this moment only three, technically four if you counted Happy being on Ichigo's team, remained left to play in the game. One of them in particular, being Erza, was extremely relieved that the one person who seemed to be 'on to her' was now out of the game. On top of that, she now had an opportunity to play the game out with Ichigo should she happen to eliminate the only other player left.

"Okay, my turn! Ichigo, truth or dare?" Mira asked.

"Truth." Ichigo answered.

"Hmm… what do you find attractive in a romantic partner?" Mira asked blankly, hiding the slight bashful nature that took over her being upon prompting her question.

For a moment, Ichigo blushed, having become slightly bashful upon the question being prompted. However, when he truly began to think on the answer to that question, he realized that he didn't really ever consider such things. Nevertheless, he supposed he had an accurate answer.

"That's a tough one… well, I guess I can't say a normal girl given how crazy my life is. I'd like her to be kind, strong, and not a pushover. I'd also like it if she were compassionate and cared about others and the lives of their loved ones the same way I do. Looks, to me, don't really matter all that much, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want whoever I end up with to be pretty." Ichigo stated, a small blush making its way onto his cheeks out of a small sense of embarrassment as he finished speaking.

Both Erza and Mira smiled at his response and stared affectionately at the orange-haired teen, each clearly believing that they were just the ideal woman he had just described. Incidentally each noticed that this was the case, which caused the two to glare at one another a split second later.

'_Does she think he was talking about her?!_' They wondered in unison. At this point the game began to take a new shape for the two remaining females, each of them now bent on 'gathering intelligence' on the other. This wasn't war just yet, but if things kept going the way they were it would quickly turn into one.

Mira and Erza just continued to stare skeptically at one another, each simply waiting for Ichigo to begin his turn. Happy once again whispered something into his ear, but his confused expression told them that it wasn't necessarily something that would get someone eliminated.

"Okay… Mira, truth or dare?" Ichigo questioned.

"Truth." Mira replied, taking a break from staring at Erza to give the substitute a bright smile.

"Do you cook and then eat children?" Ichigo asked, sounding as if he himself didn't believe he was asking that question.

"Um, no… why would you ask that?" Mira inquired confusedly.

"Happy asked me to." Ichigo replied, gesturing a thumb towards the blue-furred cat on his shoulder.

The white-haired woman then glared at the Exceed and effectively made him release a nervous chuckle as he began to hide his face behind the sides of Ichigo's hair. Clearly she had been annoyed to have been asked such a ridiculous question.

"My turn… Mira, please choose." Erza stated.

"Truth." Mira replied, obviously not trusting the redhead in the slightest when it came to the only other reaming option. She could just have taken a drink to dodge, but there was no need to do so if she didn't have to.

"I have my own suspicions, but is Ichigo the one who gave you the advice you were referring to earlier?" Erza asked.

"Yes. Also, just like I said earlier, I can never thank him enough, even more so now that he helped Elfman when he needed it most." Mira replied, a fiery look in her eyes as she stared down the scarlet-haired teen.

'_I see… then perhaps I was correct in assuming you are attracted to him._' Erza thought, her previous suspicions becoming more and more concrete as the game progressed.

"My turn. Erza, truth or dare?" Mira asked quickly, not even bothering to wait for the redhead to end her turn.

"Truth." Erza answered, her voice possessing an edge that it hadn't before.

Ichigo just looked confusedly at the feline that sat atop his shoulder, though said cat just shrugged in response. Something very weird was going on, and he hadn't the slightest clue of what it was.

"Who specifically would you want as a boyfriend?" Mira questioned heatedly.

In response, Erza just continued to glare at the white-haired woman while she downed a drink. She didn't quite want a certain someone to hear the answer for personal reasons, and she'd be damned if she let Mira squeeze that information out of her before she had the ability to do the same.

"Um… Erza, truth or…" Ichigo began.

"Truth." Erza replied evenly, cutting the orange-haired teen off.

"Alright… Erza, do _you_ cook then eat children?" Ichigo inquired.

"Happy…" Erza growled out threateningly, turning to glare at the blue-furred Exceed as she did so.

"Every cat for himself!" Happy squealed, after which he flew away out of fear. Mildly annoying Mira was one thing, but actually upsetting Erza was a one way ticket to sheer unadulterated pain, and he happened to be 'allergic' to that.

"I'll take that as a no…" Ichigo trailed off as he watched his now former partner fly away.

"I'm up. Mira, truth or dare?" Erza questioned aggressively.

"Truth." Mire replied, a small glare now being directed towards the redheaded knight.

"Who is it that you would like to have as your romantic partner?" Erza asked.

Exactly as Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard had done before, Mira just took the nearest mug of alcohol and finished it up within seconds. A small blush was now present on her cheeks due to the booze, but even so she was still standing and appeared fine. However, she was inwardly panicking given that at this point her technical best friend had to know.

'_She just has to… the questions she's asked me don't go to any other conclusion._' Mira thought.

"Are you two okay?" Ichigo asked in a voice of slight concern, having noticed that the only remaining two players of their 'game' appeared aggravated in some manner.

"I'm fine." The two replied in unison, sounding rather agitated.

'_This is 'fine' for you two?_' Ichigo wondered, knowing full well that they were lying. Still, he couldn't figure out why they would be the way they are, so it didn't really benefit him to dwell on it any further. All he could try to do at this point was not do anything stupid to worsen their moods.

"Ichigo… truth or dare?" Mira called out, surprising the orange-haired teen with her inquiry.

Ichigo actually felt a bit relieved that Mira wasn't continuing whatever little weird exchange that was occurring between her and Erza. At the very least half of the problem was gone.

There was, however, a reason that the formerly powerless woman had chosen not to go after her former and possibly future rival. If things continued the way they did, she would be drunk within the next ten minutes, and so now all that remained was for her to try and get Ichigo out of the game. She was currently taking a gamble on the fact that Erza herself would want to hear the answer of this question and as a result just continuously repeat it in the hopes of an answer.

"Truth." Ichigo answered cheerfully, much to the barmaid's added joy.

"Who do you think is the prettiest woman in Fairy Tail?" Mira asked.

At this, Erza immediately stopped glaring at the white-haired woman and turned to look at Ichigo in an effort to see his reaction. The question clearly took him completely off guard, but it remained to be seen whether he would answer it.

If Ichigo would present an answer, then it was entirely possible that she would be named, which meant, to her, that she'd 'won'. However, if her name wasn't the response he gave, should he choose to give one, then there was a distinct possibility that the named person would fall into an unfortunate accident in the near future. All is fair in love and war, after all, and this was about to be both.

"Um…" Ichigo mumbled.

He looked back and forth between the two women keeping his company, noticing that they seemed to want him to answer. However, there was absolutely no way in hell he would give an answer because he really couldn't, plain and simple. In his mind the choice was obviously between the two female wizards with whom he currently sat, but choosing between them in terms of looks just wasn't something he thought he could do.

Even if he were, the answer would undoubtedly anger one of them and given that they already appeared to be agitated at one another, maybe due to the alcohol as he wasn't exactly sure, but either way it was a terrible, terrible idea.

With that in mind, the orange-haired teen then downed a drink within seconds, clearly being motivated to do so as a result of the situation he pictured should he have answered it. His throat burned slightly and his face began to get a bit hotter, but nevertheless he had successfully dodged the question.

"Ichigo, truth or dare?!" Erza asked heatedly and likely in a voice of higher volume than she realized.

The orange-haired teen's eyes shot wide open upon hearing this and subsequently seeing a rather angry expression, if he had to call it, present on Erza's face. In fact, he was so caught off by this turn of events that he didn't even recall that he was supposed to take the next turn.

'_I've got a bad feeling about this…_' Ichigo thought, practically predicting what would happen.

"T-Truth." Ichigo replied, though he inwardly screamed at himself for doing so.

"Who do you think the most attractive female in Fairy Tail is?" Erza asked.

"You can't ask the same question twice! It's also not even your turn!" Ichigo shouted defensively, though his guild mates didn't seem to care in the slightest.

"You bet your ass I can ask the same question she did. Now who do think is the prettiest girl in our guild?!" Erza shouted, ignoring the second point her comrade had brought up.

It took almost no time at all before the Substitute Soul Reaper quickly gulped down another mug of alcohol, though this time he found it necessary to shake his head as a result of his vision becoming slightly blurred. He appeared to just not be in the state of mind to dispute anything at this point.

"Who do you think is the prettiest girl here?" Mira questioned assertively.

"I-I didn't even pick which one I wanted yet!" Ichigo countered.

"Choose!" The two exclaimed in unison.

"Dare." Ichigo immediately replied, being able to see even in his slightly drunken state that this was the clear choice.

"I dare you to tell me who the prettiest girl in this room is." Mira stated.

"That's cheating!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Judge's ruling?" Mira inquired, turning towards her redheaded coconspirator for support.

"Yes, she can." Erza said, giving a nod of approval for the white-haired woman's actions.

"Wait, why does she get to be the judge?" Ichigo questioned.

"Because I have a gavel." Erza stated matter-of-factly, summoning the very same object she mentioned a second later via way of her requip magic.

"See, that makes sense. Now answer." Mira practically demanded.

"No it doesn't!" Ichigo replied.

"Yes it does." Erza countered, backing it up with absolutely nothing.

At this point the already half-drunk substitute just gave up and downed another drink. Even passing out at this point seemed better than being hounded like this.

_**Some Time Later…**_

Ichigo had passed out in his chair and began to make small groaning noises shortly after he had essentially just resigned to his fate. He'd regret doing so in the morning, but even if he did he still wouldn't be able to understand what went through the minds of the two women who had put him in such a state.

"I think he's out cold…" Erza observed.

"Yes… now, Erza, truth or dare?" Mira inquired, firmly glaring at the woman who in her mind was currently her mortal enemy.

"Truth." Erza answered, practically challenging the barmaid to ask her exactly what she expected to be asked.

"Do you or do you not want to be romantically attached to Ichigo?" Mira asked, somewhat surprising herself with her vocabulary given that she currently felt a bit tipsy.

The scarlet-haired woman just dodged the question by taking another drink. After she had done so, a very evident alcoholic blush covered her cheeks and her shoulders began to slump, albeit barely.

"Gah… Mira, tr…" Erza said, only to be cut off.

"Truth." Mira stated, possessing the same challenging tone that her redheaded friend had previously used.

"Do you or do you not want to be rom… romantically attached to Ichigo?" Erza struggled to ask, finding it hard to use the full extent of her traditionally bountiful vocabulary.

Mira just did exactly as Erza had previously done, practically the same results appeared to take place. Each glared at one another with a accompanying scowls on their faces, though they seemed much less threatening due to the alcohol-induced blushes that took over their respective cheeks.

At the moment, the two Fairy Tail wizards sat in silence. It was clear to both of them what the situation currently was, and that only meant that this would lead to conflict. They perceived that only one of them would win in the end, and it was clear at this point that neither wanted to be the one to make the first move. They had their own respective reasons for wanting Ichigo to be the first to make an advance in terms of requesting a relationship, but nevertheless the circumstances appeared to be set.

Hearing a quiet groan escaping the lips of the orange-haired teen they both desired to be their partner, they each turned their eyes towards him. A moment later they realized that the other was looking at him as well, at which point both Mira and Erza glared at one another before making to speak.

"He's mine!" They exclaimed in unison, after which they jumped at Ichigo's body in an attempt to claim what was 'rightfully' theirs.

The end result was for the three to end up on the floor, Ichigo still being unconscious, as the two females began to use his body as a practical means to play an odd version of tug of war. It would have been better if they just constantly pulled as in his drunken state Ichigo wouldn't have felt any pain in his arms, but one pulled, and then the other pulled back, meaning that his body just continued to constantly swish back and forth.

Normally someone would have likely commented on the scene, but at this point there wasn't anyone left capable of doing so. Perhaps Happy was, but since he was scared off by Erza he was nowhere to be seen. Everyone else was passed out on the ground, save for the master who slept atop a barrel and Cana who currently resided atop the main bar taking what appeared to be a rather pleasant nap.

_**Era: Seigrain's Office **_

"You're rather quiet…" Seigrain commented.

Directly in front of his desk was the ever so sly Ultear Milkovich. She sat in a chair, her legs crossed and a neutral expression etched across her face. However, it didn't seem that she had been paying any attention as she didn't respond to her colleague's words. Given their topic of discussion, however, it was possible that she simply lost herself in deep thought.

"Ultear…" Seigrain called out in an attempt to bring the woman back to the planet earth.

"Hmm…" Ultear muttered, bringing her head up and dawning an expressing that suggested she was still deep in thought.

"I said that you're rather quiet…" Seigrain repeated with a small smirk.

"I apologize, sir." Ultear replied.

"My, my, could it be that you were thinking about Ichigo Kurosaki _that _thoroughly?" Seigrain asked with a raised brow and a suggestive smirk.

The dark-haired woman actually blushed, which was all the more visible due to the rather pale nature of her skin. She appeared to be caught off guard by the man's question, which had the added effect of eliciting a very amused round of laughter from the esteemed Wizard Saint across from her.

'_Ass…_' Ultear sneered in thought. She wasn't very easy to tease or catch off guard, but when it happened she just had to suck it up and move on given that she was still acting the part of a subordinate.

"No need to scowl, I was only joking. You know I actually think he's a very interesting man, and he has only gone to prove he is worthy of attention through his actions against Phantom." Seigrain stated, having already gotten his fun out of the way.

"Yes, I was impressed as well. Defeating one of the Ten Wizard Saints is no easy task, even if he had the added assistance of two S-Class wizards. On top of that, it would seem that Fairy Tail's Demon is back into play." Ultear commented.

"True… and what do you think the odds are that our esteemed otherworldly friend had something to do with that?" Seigrain asked, smiling devilishly as he spoke.

"I'd say it's almost a guarantee given his track record for doing what people do not expect him to." Ultear replied.

"That is why I think I've taken a liking to him. Both he and Natsu Dragneel continue to surprise me with each passing day, though his powers interests me more by far… still, that is a talk for another day." Seigrain thought aloud.

The technical triple agent quirked a curious brow at the words of the blue-haired man, not entirely understanding the meaning behind them. She knew that both of those two held a key role in his plans, but since they were destined to be nothing more than a distraction it didn't really matter how much he altered them.

"When are we to send out the Rune Knights to investigate the recent war between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail?" Seigrain inquired, getting back onto the matter at hand.

"They set out two days from now." Ultear replied, inwardly not understanding why the question had been asked in the first place.

"I would like for you to head the investigation and pay our dear friend a visit. Inform him that the Magic Council intends to leave him alone once again." Seigrain requisitioned, somewhat to his assumed coconspirator's surprise.

"But even now the council isn't likely to do anything to him since the guild master of Phantom was acting as a criminal in this situation. If anything, he likely did us a favor." Ultear stated, eliciting a small chuckle from the blue-haired man.

"Yes… but he doesn't need to know that, does he? It makes us seem all the more less threatening should we reassure him that he is not in any danger… well, from the Magic Council, at least." Seigrain said.

"Very well… then I look forward to my visit." Ultear thought aloud, a small but intentionally restricted smirk forming across her lips.

**A/N Just a reminder that the next chapter will be posted next Monday, that's really all I have to say. **

_**Explanations**_:

**Ichigo vs. Jose**: Well I feel like I should add this despite the fact that it has to do with the last chapter. Yes, I could very easily have had Ichigo beat him solo, I liked the way I did it better, that's really all there is to it. It gave me a chance to bring Mira's powers back in a less random fashion while also letting me show them off a bit, and it made Jose getting crushed all the more believable. As for the lack of Bankai, well to be honest I never really considered Jose to be all that powerful. Yes, he's strong, but of the Ten Wizard Saints I would put Makarov and Seigrain/Jellal above him by a healthy margin.

**Bankai**: The latest it will show up is the Tower of Heaven Arc, which is upcoming. I am only adding this because it was asked repeatedly in reviews.

**Mira and Erza**: The feuding stage is about to begin. Expect Ichigo to remain dense up until the point that they simply can't take it anymore.

_**Reviews**_:

**DemonsAnarchy**: They will probably just respect his strength. At this point pretty much everyone in Fairy Tail, be they present or otherwise in the guildhall, knows about him. Well, save for Gidlarts for obvious reasons.

**Guest(1)**: I am basically glossing over that part of the story. You'll see what I mean and how I will do this in the near future.

**GirlfFish**: If Ichigo and Mira had a kid… hmm, I think there baby would be too beautiful to be considered scary xD. However, personality wise, if they had a kid, said child would never be messed with… EVER. Juvia isn't very threatening, I think… I mean, she could be, but I don't see her as a threatening person. As for Ichigo lasting in a one-month long fight, well, he'd easily be able to do it. Remember, technically speaking, he was within his inner world battling 'Tensa Zangetsu' for three months while ALSO being in Bankai. So, yeah, hope that answers your question.

**VOGoshinki**: The power level thing is never going to be something that _anyone_ agrees on tbh. Also, as a Wizard Saint, I do not think of Jose as that powerful. I would put Jellal and Makarov a good bit ahead of him. As for threats, I would also consider the war with Phantom to be one of the most minimal things that occur in Fairy Tail. Laxus's little game was even more threatening now that I think about it. Hades and Mard Geer could rather easily force out his Bankai, so don't worry too much about that. Acnologia also would beat Ichigo one on one. He could probably scratch Acnologia and give him a good wound if it landed a direct hit, but that's about it, so he couldn't kill him as he stands now.

**KratosTheGodofWar**: Not entirely sure. There are any number of stories I could write after this if I am being honest…

**DracoArtemisLeopin**: Tower of Heaven Arc will be the latest it comes on, and that's likely when it will show up.

**Stardragonbooste**: Not in this story, specifically, but in this series he likely will. By series, I mean there will be more than one installment to this story, so there will at the very least be a sequel.

**daragon10**: I have a solution for the Edolas Arc, don't worry.

**Monkeybutt98**: Potentially, yes. I always like to give myself options so it may or may not happen.

**Guest(3)**: Can't answer that question.

**zero**: She still exists, but where she is I will not say ;P

**x-05-x**: This year, easily.

**Cloud Narukami**: Yes, however only one will enter the universe and that is towards the end of the story.

**AnonymousWierdo**: Not in this story, no. Though there will be a sequel and he will find out about his heritage at that point.

**Spider-Man999**: Technically yes, but the manga is in its final arc so when the Japanese episodes start again you can expect the English to return. Bankai will happen during the Tower of Heaven Arc.

**cellum95**: Maybe, I definitely want to consider doing it. I feel like it'd just be fun.

**Guest(4)**: Not armed combat, but they will 'fight', yes.


End file.
